


The Last Summoner

by WavesBlade



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X
Genre: Corruption, Crossover, Descent into Madness, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Magic Doesn't Work That Way, Marriage of State, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Redemption, Spiritual, Summons are Sentient Beings too!, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-09-06 13:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16833493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WavesBlade/pseuds/WavesBlade
Summary: Yuna died in the peaks of Mount Gagazet, murdered by Seymour. So when she woke up again, she was a little surprised. Especially to find herself in the middle of a war between the people of Wutai, and the greedy Shinra Corporation. Heralded as something called a 'Cetra' by the Wutai, Yuna finds herself drawn into events that will shape the course of the world for good or ill...





	1. Lady Yuna, the Cetra?

**Author's Note:**

> Gorkii is one of the Wutai bosses you fight as Yuffie in FF7, not an OC. Since we don't know his role prior to FF7, I'm taking some liberties.
> 
> [speech] instead of "speech" is speech in Wutai.
> 
> I'm making the connection between FF7 and FF10 an actual thing in this story.

Yuna's ears were ringing.

_"Spira is a land of suffering and sorrow, caught in a spiral of death."_

It was cold, so cold, the winds of Mount Gagazet were cruel and uncaring.

_"To destroy-to heal-Spira, I will become Sin."_

Blood... there was so much blood...

_"Your hope ends here."_

It was... her blood...?

_"And your meaningless existence with it!"_

There was a sharp, aching pain through her stomach, and she felt weightless... no, she was being... lifted...?

_"Death awaits you."_

"YUNA!" came a collective scream.

Yuna hazily looked upward, at the monstrous form of Seymour, floating off the edge of the cliff they had battled him on, lifting her up with... with a spear impaled right through her body. The white sash wrapped around her chest and shoulders stained red with blood and dirt from fighting. Her purple flower-patterned dress covering her lower body was ripped and stained. The yellow patterned _obi_ she wore, crinkled and pressured by the spear through it. Her kimono sleeves hung limply, blood running down them and her arms. Her staff hung loosely in her death-grip, the only thing she could barely hang on to as darkness swam across her vision.

"A shame," came Seymour's metallic, cruel voice, "That you would die for these pitiful mortals, when they were supposed to die for you, the creed of the Guardians, failed."

She weakly looked back on her friends, on a shocked Tidus, still on the ground where she had pushed him out of the way of the lethal impalement she had suffered in his stead. "I'm... sorry... everyone..."

"You could have been so much more," mused Seymour, "Still, I will merely find another. You are hardly the only Summoner making the pilgrimage after all."

Nausea took over Yuna as Seymour swung his spear and cast Yuna off it like she was trash, off the mountain, plummeting through icy cold and biting winds. She weakly looked down on the ground rising to greet her as she rushed down to meet it, and she closed her eyes one final time. There was a brief moment of impact and horrific shattering pain, and then...

* * *

Yuna was, needless to say, surprised when she awoke in a bed in what looked like a hut at first glance at the ceiling. She felt... faint... weak. Naked under blankets, save for what felt like bandages over wounds. She noted her staff leaning against the wall nearby. The sound of water being wrung out of a wash cloth was heard, and she managed to turn her head. There was a woman, black hair and eyes, eyes shaped narrow, face taunt with concern, she was wrapped in a simple black and white Kimono. The woman reached the wet wash cloth towards Yuna's forehead, pausing with surprise when she noted Yuna was awake.

She spoke... and Yuna had absolutely no idea what she was saying. It wasn't Al-Bhed, nor the common tongue. "I... don't understand..."

The woman paused, her eyebrows furrowed warily, but resumed her tending. She brushed the cloth along Yuna's forehead and then face. Yuna let her, not that she could have stopped her as weak as she felt. She wearily closed her eyes, taking deep, ragged breaths. Her body ached...

"Where... am I...?" she rasped out, opening her eyes to look at the woman.

The woman didn't respond, and instead gently corrected Yuna's head to face towards the ceiling, resting the damp washcloth gently on her forehead. It was... soothing, a light dull to the ache running through her. The woman stood and left the room, and Yuna heard hushed voices exchanged. Several minutes later, a gruff looking man in layered light-blue armor entered the room. He had thinly cut hair, and brown whisker-like beards froim the side of his chin.

"You are whom?" he asked in common, his voice and accent sounding unused to the tongue.

"I... I'm Yuna...," she managed.

"Are you Shinra?" the man demanded.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Shinra...?"

The man studied her, scrutinizing in a way she recognized, the way the Priests of Yevon would look for the unfaithful, for liars and deceivers. Bitterness grew in her at the thought. Yevon was the true liars, the deceivers...

"Shinra did to you?" he said, motioning to the center of her blanket.

Yuna shook her head, and while she doubted they would believe her, since her attacker had been a Maester, she tried anyway, "Seymour... Guado."

There was not an ounce of recognition at the name.

"A SOLDIER?" he asked.

There was something... odd about the way he said that, as if it wasn't the same as a regular soldier. "No... I... where am I?"

"Wutai," the man said, filled with the pride of a man speaking of his home.

Except Yuna had absolutely no clue where that was.

"Found outside of village," the man said slowly, putting effort into his words, "Near shrine."

"Shrine...?" she asked, did they mean a Temple?

"Old, overrun by nature, by mako," said the man, "Covered you were, blood and the Planet lifeblood. Did not think you live."

"I'm... surprised too," she said, a faint chuckle escaping her lips.

It made no sense. She should be dead, no, she _had_ died. She had felt the crushing impact, and if somehow that hadn't killed her, she had lost far to much blood to have survived on top of that. She felt awful right now, but no where near what she should feel. And what did he mean by 'Planet lifeblood'? By mako?

"Don't... understand...," she whispered, so tired...

The man studied her for a moment before sighing. "Sleep. Watch over you, Children of Leviathan do. In my bones, feel that should."

She smiled a little at his broken language, but understood, and appreciated it. "Thank... you..."

She didn't last much longer before exhaustion took her and she passed out.

* * *

Consciousness came and went several times, with various people there to tend to and question her. Most of it made no sense to her. She knew nothing of a war with any Shinra. The 'Demon of Wutai', Sephiroth, held no meaning to her. Nor did the names Genesis or Angeal. The Wutai's leader Godo was unfamiliar to her, and that drew their surprise more than anything, all of their questions just seeded confusion. Which, on top of her condition, induced far more stress than she needed right now.

If she had any energy, she'd take care of her wounds herself. Actually...

"E...ether...," she managed to ask in her latest awakening, to that same armored man.

The man gave her a quizzical look. "You no materia."

What in the world was a materia?

She shook her head and pleaded again. "Please..."

The man frowned briefly before leaving and returning a minute later with what she assumed was an ether. It was in a different type of bottle than what she recognized, it's hue a slightly different color. Tasted about the same when he brought it to her lips, a bitter nastiness. She made a face at that, but quickly turned that into a relieved smile when she felt her energy return to her.

She placed a hand on the blanket, over her midsection. "Curaga."

There was an audible gasp from the man as white light spilled from her fingertips and poured through the blanket into her body. She groaned slightly as the wounds she figured they had stitched closed properly mended. Her body still ached, but it was much better now. She sighed with relief and turned to look at the man. "Thank you."

She was... relatively surprised to see the man staring at her in awe. "Cetra..."

What in the world was a Cetra?

Her eyes went a little wide to see him kneel at the foot of her bed, bowing his head in reverence. It had happened enough as a summoner, but, they didn't know of her, there was no recognition. But a bit of white magic had him in awe and calling her 'Cetra'? There was something weird going on. She made to sit up before her blanket started to fall away. She blushed and yanked it back up to cover herself.

"Um... can I get some clothes?" she asked.

The man rose and turned away. "Mending. Bad condition. Will check."

She was about to tell him there was no need to rush on her behalf, she could wear something else, but he was already gone. She sighed and laid back down. Her head turned as loud and excited voices speak. The first woman peaked back in, and hesitantly walked over, lifting off Yuna's blanket and checking the bandages, astonished to see the wounds mostly gone.

"Umm... could you take out the stitches?" Yuna asked.

The woman didn't understand, so Yuna made a pulling motion on one of them sticking out. The woman nodded in understanding, and laid an apologetic hand on Yuna's shoulder before gently, but sharply, pulling the stitches out one by one. Yuna bore through the sharp pains, she had suffered worse on her pilgramage. Afterwards, she cast another Curaga on herself, healing the last of the physical wounds, but not the tiredness still plaguing her. The woman tending to her looked astonished, wide eyed, _reverent_...

And that particular look continued as Yuna slowly recovered her strength throughout the next few days.

Children peeked in at her and whispered in foreign tongues.

Other men and woman checked in, and when she turned her head to look at them, they shyly slipped away.

Soldiers came in an asked for her blessing, only for the first soldier to scold them and run them off, saying that "Cetra need rest, do not bother."

Finally, her clothes were brought back, restored to pristine condition, and the first woman helped her get dressed. When Yuna gave her a smile and decided she had been rude not to ask the woman's name; the woman merely bowed her head and rushed out when asked, mumbling in her tongue.

The soldier came in a moment later, and when Yuna asked, he merely said, "Says herself unworthy."

Yuna sighed. "I'm not an object of worship."

The man regarded her, the reverence still in his eyes, but also much more controlled respect. "Rested are you?"

Yuna nodded and bowed. "Yes, thank you for tending to me."

When she rose back up, the man was blushing furiously. "No thanks need you give. Glad to help Cetra we are."

Yuna gave him a puzzled look. "What is a 'Cetra'?"

The man frowned a little, his blush fading, before turning thoughtful. "Our word for your people."

Yuna had a people? Did they mean Al-Bhed? Summoners? People from Besaid?

"If may ask," the man humbly began, "Lady Yuna, have you come help Wutai?"

"I... have no idea where I am," she admitted, "Last I knew, I was on a pilgrimage, that I... I had _died_."

The man seemed to struggle with her wording. "Hmm. No one there, who had harmed you. Found alone. Know not how you came to Wutai."

Yuna frowned unhappily. "Do... you know anyone named Tidus?"

Head shake.

"Auron?"

"Wakka"

"Lulu?"

"Rikku?"

"Kimarhi?"

Yuna was downcast by the end of it and sighed. "I... guess I am alone then."

"Who they?" he asked quietly.

"My friends, my companions," she said, "My guardians."

The man nodded slowly. "Keep an ear to the wind I will for them."

She gave him a smile. "Thank you."

She refocused her attention. "What exactly does 'Wutai' need help with? This... 'war' you mentioned?"

The man's face turned dark. "Shinra," he spat out, "Come with death. Desire to bleed land of Planet Lifeblood with reactor. Wutai refused, Shinra wage dishonorable war. Destroy villages, murder innocent, all for greed."

Yuna might be missing out on some of the specifics, but her eyes narrowed at the notion of entire villages wiped out. No people nor nation that did such was good and just. And while she knew little of these 'Wutai', they had showed her kindness, reverence, so she would stand with them as she got her bearings. "I will help you."

Pure relief played across his face and he bowed low. "Thank you."

He righted himself. "Many injured by last battle, brought here to village. Help them with magic of life?"

Yuna nodded, grabbed her staff, and walked towards the exit. "Take me to them."

The village she found herself in was similar to Besaid in a way, with huts scattered around of various shapes and sizes. Some wooden buildings, a temple-like structure off in the distance. At the center of the village was a cluster of woman trying to rapidly tend to many injured soldiers. The wounds were awful, many were missing limbs, or slowly bleeding out, deep gashes and scrapes, burns of fire and lightning, or frosty blue from what looked like ice magic. She let her gaze wash over the makeshift medical area, and closed her eyes. A soft sigh escaping her lips.

She opened them and began ordering, "Please set any bones that are broken first."

The group of woman paused and looked at her, wide-eyed and waiting. The soldier that escorted her barked out a translation, she assumed, in his native tongue. Yuna waited patiently, feeling the life of the wounded ebbing. Finally, when she got a nod, she took a deep breath, and reached for her power. She focused her magic on each presence and cried out, raising her staff into the air. "Curaga!"

A large glow of energy surrounded the mass of wounded, embedding into their bodies and sealing their wounds. A reverent hush took over the town as Yuna lowered her staff, and so many knelt before her. She paid it little heed, feeling a it woozy after such a large healing. Maybe she should have taken it easy... no, people needed her.

The soldier placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her, and she gave him an appreciative nod. He led her to a bench to sit on, and called for water, in the form of a clay jug. She graciously took a drink, and handed it back after. "What's your name?"

The soldier paused briefly before bowing again, "Gorkii."

"Is it... always that bad?" she asked quietly, motioning to the former wounded.

Gorkii frowned, nodding grimly, "SOLDIERs, powerful, overwhelming. Destructive and murder. Wutai are brave, but SOLDIER, unmatched. Crescent Unit barely match weakest."

So Wutai was losing then, probably badly. If Yuna was to do anything, she would need to pull out all the stops and...

And...

She couldn't feel them.

She froze for a moment.

She couldn't feel her summons. _Any_ of them.

She bowed her head, as to not show her shock and fear. If she didn't have her summons... how could she even hope to make a difference? Lulu had barely taught her offensive magics; her dedication was to healing, not destruction.

She looked up at Gorkii with sorrow. "I'm a healer, not a warrior. I... I can try to help, but I..."

The man nodded. "Cetra, givers of life, tenders of planet. Not fouled with bloodshed. You help us, we protect you, protect Wutai."

"I'll do what I can," she said quietly.

Gorkii nodded solemnly, but said no more. They watched as the villagers helped the wounded to their feet and sorted them out, passing back weapons and armor, or moving them out of the way if they could fight no more with lost limbs. Yuna briefly tried to listen to passing conversations, most she figured were about her, but...

"Gorkii," she asked, "Can you teach me to speak your language?"

The man looked surprised at her request, and then his chest puffed a bit. "My honor teach you, Lady Yuna. For Cetra learn Tongue of Leviathan, great honor."

She gave a small smile as she settled in to learn her first words of Wutai...

* * *

She set out with the Wutai a day later. With the soldiers returning to the war-front. Gorkii at her side as her self-appointed protector. They walked through a stretching wood, beautiful nature that she took her time to admire as they walked. Gorkii had managed to teach her enough in passing that she was comfortable not completely butchering his language.

[Beautiful], she said, working on her Wutain pronunciation.

Gorkii nodded. "Children of Leviathan treasure our world."

She smiled at that.

Gorkii held up a hand to pause and motioned Yuna over to a bush, she watched curiously as he knelt down and gently lifeted an almost invisible string up. [Traps for Shinra, our land is beautiful, but deadly].

He motioned her down, and the others briefly away, before he yanked it. Yuna's eyes went wide to see a bladed swing come down from the treetops at a speed that would have taken their heads off.

[Always watch your feet], he warned before switching back to common, "Reset trap, then hurry on."

A few soldiers stayed behind to do so, while the group picked up the pace. Gorkii kept pointing out types of traps littered around the woods, and Yuna could appreciate how Wutai was still standing if they were losing as badly as she thought they were. An army could not move through these woods without suffering potentially heavy casualties. So either they suffered them, or took it extremely slow. She did her best to press the kinds of traps and locations the Wutai used to her memory, both to protect herself, and maybe ward off any enemies.

Several hours of walking later, the sounds of a battle echoed ahead. They rushed forward and came across another village. It was half in flame, with civilians fleeing, screaming. Mothers clutching their children, soldiers in retreat, elderly trying to hobble away. Behind them, Yuna caught her first sight of Shinra. The defining feature, from what she could see, was their weird three-eyed helmet that shinned red that accompined their bland blue clothes and armor. The second was the guns, lots and lots of guns. They gunned down anyone in their way and strode over the corpses. There were a few Shinra without helmets, carrying swords, fighting with what few Wutai remained, but Yuna paid them no heed over the butchers murdering civilians.

Yuna clenched her fists tightly in rage and raised her staff high into the sky, tapping heavily into her magic. "Mend those who have fallen! Life!"

Light shined down from the skies, touching those who had fallen with it's grace. Then utter chaos spread through the battlefield around the village as those who had fallen returned to the battlefield, often right next to or behind the gunmen, and pounced. Without a distance to shoot from, the Shinra's gunmen were butchered. Yuna sagged a bit under the effort of her spell. Focusing her power to mend large quantities of people rather than her small group of Guardians was exhausting. She had almost completely depleted her reserves with one spell. She shook her head and refocused, taking note all the sudden of the sword carrying Shinra.

They moved at inhuman speeds with inhuman strength. Her eyes went wide to see swords sever completely through a person, cutting them in half. She brought a hand up to her mouth in horror. "What are they?"

Gorkii was one of the few who did not join the battle, standing around Yuna as an honor guard of sorts. "SOLDIER."

They moved so fast, and the only way the Wutai seemed to be able to take any of them down was to surround them. The more agile of the SOLDIERs seemed impossible to defeat. Yuna... was uncertain her team of Guardians could have defeated a large number of these SOLDIERs at once. Faster than Rikku, stronger than Sir Auron, tougher than Kimahri. It was insane to watch. She fingered her staff gingerly, weighing her reserves, enough for one more mass cast.

"Hastega!" she cried out, letting the spell burst from her staff and wash over the Wutai.

The odds more evened, they cut down a number of the SOLDIERs before they turned and fled. Yuna collapsed to the ground, Gorkii's quick action the only reason she didn't smash her head. He helped her to a sitting position as the Wutai began to cheer for their victory. [Ether! Someone bring an Ether for the Cetra Lady Yuna!]

A sudden hush washed over the battlefield, as those who hadn't arrived with them turned to look at her in disbelief or awe, a number of them rushing over to hand her bottles. She guzzled them down greedily, and took a few to attach to her belt. [Thank you].

Gorkii allowed them a minute to gawk or bow or kneel or chant 'Cetra!' in awe of her before he waved them back to the village and started barking orders to put out fires, repair damage, and barricade as best they could. She watched, still sitting on the ground, as the Wutai began to rally and move, and felt a small hope for them. Even if it was only one or two mass castings, it turned the tide of a battle. Yet... for a war, was this a big battle? Or just a skirmish? There couldn't have been even a hundred combatants here.

She shook her head silently and watched at the Wutai began to drag out the bodies of the fallen, sorting them by nationality from what Yuna could figure. The Wutai were to badly maimed, or had already chosen to depart, and she knew better than to revive an enemy. She sighed softly and waited for them to finish before she rose to her feet and made her way over. She still had a duty, as a Summoner, to preform here, even if she could no longer summon, even if she had failed her Pilgrimage.

There was no background chorus of people as she hopped on a foot and began to spin and dance, starting off a Sending. The Wutai didn't appear to know or understand the ritual, so she sang the Hymn of the Faith herself. With a otherworldly grace, she spun and dance, her staff parting the air. Slowly, the bodies of the fallen began to disperse, but rather burst into pyreflies, they turned into wisps of green energy that funneled around her, panicked and fearful, seeking, no, _begging_ her guidance. Her heart cried out for the lost souls, and bid them to find their rest in the Farplane. Instead of dissipating, they rose and surged through the air around her, before slowly falling and settling into the ground. Oddly, some of the bodies resisted, despite her focus on them. The bodies of the SOLDIERs stayed and twitched, so she began again, staff spinning, body twirling and twisting, until they did finally depart...

...as a unsettling mixture of green and black energy.

She frowned as the last of the souls sank into the earth and began their journey to the Farplane. Something was very strange about the land she now found herself in, whatever it was, she hoped to find out soon enough...

* * *

Standing in a command tent looking over a map of the Wutain continent, stood a tall, silver haired man. Imposing, straightforward, and dressed in black leathers. His eyes a sharp glowing catlike pair. He rubbed his chin in thought, glancing at the gathered captains, weighing the odds of them actually being able to do what he tasked of them rather than bungle it. The Wutai were clever, cunning, and dangerous, more so as they pushed deeper into their territory. Casualties had started, and stayed massive for Shinra because of incompetence.

Unless Genesis or Angeal was here, he had a lack of trust in any commander to not butcher anything more complex than 'march and take this town'.

Perhaps it was unfair, but the current campaign into Wutai had been far to slow for his tastes...

"General Sephiroth!"

He paused and frowned, turning as a panicked messenger ran into the tent. "What is it?"

"Survivors from the assault on one of the outer villages just returned," the young man said, breathless, "They were massacred."

"Which village?" questioned Sephiroth, "There were a number being attacked at once."

The name was given, and Sephiroth frowned thoughtfully, "I assigned a number of 3rd class SOLDIERs under the command of a 2nd, considering the detachment of infantry that took, I'm rather surprised. Bring one of the survivors in."

A minute later, a bloody 3rd class walked in. Sephiroth took a brief pity and cast a Full-Cure on him, noting with irritation that a medic should have tended to the survivors immediately rather than waiting for someone to order them to. "What happened?"

"The assault was going as planned," began the SOLDIER slowly, "We were mopping up when reinforcements arrived. A bunch of Wutai and someone not-native. The latter completely fucked us over."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Avalanche?"

"I'm not sure. She's dressed kind of native, but, didn't look Wutain," said the SOLDIER.

"Describe her," said Sephiroth.

The man did so, unfortunately, Sephiroth had no knowledge of anyone important by that description. "And how exactly did one woman turn the tables on what was a clear cut victory?"

"All-Life," spat the SOLDIER, "I think it was anyway, revived more than I had ever seen before. Must have been mastered or something, she revived basically the entire Wutain defense force. Found ourselves surrounded, infantry was butchered in seconds, the rest of the SOLDIERs fought as best we could, but she did some kind of mass-battlefield wide haste spell, we were slaughtered."

Sephiroth tilted his head thoughtfully, weighing the impact this could have on the war. "Genesis is capable of extreme spellcraft like what you describe. It seems the Wutai have found an equal in such regards. Though it is surprising to reach such a level without enhancements, and clever to wait until the troops had passed over the dead. Or well timed."

The man hesitated. "I... stuck around briefly to spy, try to see if I could either get a shot at the woman, or learn something."

Dangerous to stay, bold, but hopefully with results. "And?"

"The spells wiped her out pretty hard, and I got a name. They chanted her name, 'Yuna'," said the man, hesitating again, "They called her a 'Cetra'."

Sephiroth blinked. "As in an _Ancient_? That's preposterous, the Ancients died out thousands of years ago."

"I thought so to, sir," said the man, unsettled, "I figure it's some kind of moral thing for them at first, but..."

"But?" prompted Sephiroth.

"She danced," said the SOLDIER, "She danced, and she sang, and the dead of the battle turned into this weird green mist that fell into the ground. I've... never seen anything like it. It... was one of the most beautiful, and terrifying things I've ever seen. I don't know if she's really is an Ancient or not, but..."

"Perhaps she is, perhaps she isn't," said Sephiroth slowly, stretching it out to allow him a moment of rapid thought, weighing possibilities and outcomes, "Truth or not, this 'Yuna' is someone we will have to work around or deal with. I want word and descriptions spread, and for her to be a priority target, either for capture or to be taken out. A magic user of such a level could drastically set back our campaign if used in a more important battle than a mere outer village."

He frowned briefly before ordering, "And someone get me Genesis on the phone, I don't care what time it is back at HQ. I want his thoughts on this development, and any suggestions he would give."

"Ain't he your rival, why'd you ask him?" questioned the SOLDIER.

Sephiroth stared at him, hiding his incredulous at the continual stupidity and incompetence around him. "He is an ally and an asset, not a rival. His experience and thoughts could be invaluable in this situation. Not asking for something as _insignificant_ as pride is foolish, and will get my men killed."

Despite how much Genesis went on and on about pride, glory, being the hero and the center of attention, Sephiroth had never honestly cared about such things. He was here, he had a job to do, an army to run and an enemy to defeat, and that was it. He dismissed the SOLDIER and waited patiently until one of the captains brought him a phone.

A disgruntled yawn echoed through the phone. " _What is it Sephiroth? Some of us are trying to sleep._ "

"I request your advice on a developing situation in Wutai," he answered.

Genesis scoffed. " _What? Something the 'great and mighty' Sephiroth can't handle?_ "

Sephiroth resisted the urge to sigh, and simply said, "A spellcaster apparently on your level of skill and power has appeared for Wutai if reports are to be believed."

" _Bullshit_ ," said Genesis, voice coming fully awake and indignant, " _There is no one, not even you, who is as good as I am._ "

"A battlefield wide life spell?" countered Sephiroth, "Followed by a battlefield wide haste spell?"

There was silence for a moment before Genesis spoke carefully, " _Is this report accurate_?"

"I am assuming so," said Sephiroth, "Considering the task force sent to subjugate the village in question, it wouldn't have failed without something so extreme. There is a possibility the SOLDIER in question lied, but if he did, there was no hint of it, and I consider myself..."

" _Yes yes yes, I know, you can pick out someone lying like it's secondhand nature for you_ ," said Genesis irritably, " _Now, give me the full report you were given_."

Sephiroth did so, but withheld the information of the spellcaster's name, supposed race, and her 'dance'. If only for but a moment to gauge Genesis's thoughts before and after being given the information.

Genesis worked it over for a moment before clarifying, " _And he said they were mopping up? Not midway or at the beginning?_ "

"Correct."

" _That's impossible_ ," said Genesis, " _I've cast all-life enough time myself to know what that combination can and cannot do. Life and Phoenix Downs are only viable for a few minutes, otherwise the soul will have fled the body. At the tail end of a battle, it should be impossible to revive an entire garrison at that point. Which, by the way, is numerically something even I couldn't do, not for lack of trying, but from the limits of the materia itself. It caps at roughly ten each, and the energy requirement to go higher is astronomically outrageous, I'd have to do several follow up casts to even come close to that number._ "

Sephiroth weighed those words carefully before speaking quietly, "The SOLDIER that brought me this report told me two additional pieces of information. The spellcaster in a non-native woman named Yuna, and that the Wutai called her a 'Cetra'."

Genesis coughed into the phone. " _I beg your pardon?_ "

"You heard me," said Sephiroth before adding in thoughtfully, "If she is what the Wutai say she is, does that change what you said?"

Genesis was deadly silent for a few minute, but of course, when he spoke, it was a blasted quote from that play, " _When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky, wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting_."

Sephiroth didn't hold back a sigh this time. "Genesis..."

" _It is said that the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in materia_ ," said Genesis slowly, " _If there is a living, breathing Cetra, then it stands to reason that she would be capable of magics beyond what we can do. Was there any other information he gave? Any other appearances or abilities he noted?"_

"Nothing aside from the two mass spells having drained the supposed Cetra," said Sephiroth before he paused, "Unless you count dancing and turning the dead into mist as a ability of note."

" _She can cause the planet to claim the bodies? At will?_ " questioned Genesis, an odd hint of awe to his voice.

Sephiroth frowned. He didn't necessarily agree with various theories or religions on why some dead dispersed and faded away while others didn't, but he wasn't going to insult and challenge his friend's belief just because he could. "Apparently. Otherwise, this is her first appearance that I know about."

" _Hmmm_ ," mused Genesis, " _If there is a place in this world that could and would have housed and hidden the Cetra all this time, it would be Wutai. As improbable as it is, it is still a possibility, and a dangerous one. We know very little about their actual capabilities. That two massive spells drained the Ancient is obvious, if I could cast like that it would drain me as well. It might be to early to suggest a pattern, but it appears thus far she goes for a big impact, but will leave herself vulnerable in doing so. Either because she has something to prove, or she just wanted to make an impact._ "

Sephiroth agreed with the vulnerability part, "I wouldn't know personality wise."

" _I wouldn't expect you to_ ," said Genesis, but oddly, it wasn't in his usual jabbing tone, he was _serious_ , " _We might need a Turk over there at some point to compile a profile. I'll bring this information to Lazard and have him escalate it from there._ "

"You are that concerned?" questioned Sephiroth.

" _Respectful_ ," corrected Genesis, " _If this new threat is really a Cetra, underestimating their power begs for trouble. Besides..._ "

Genesis's voice grew uncomfortable. " _I am a believer in the old faith, and I respect those who follow those ways_."

"Really," stated Sephiroth dryly, sarcasm bleeding through, "I hadn't thought that of you, what with you quoting passages about your Goddess every day."

Genesis huffed. " _No need to be rude, you uneducated philistine_."

Sephiroth's lips twitched. "Good night Genesis."

" _Morning actually,_ " said Genesis, " _Oh, and Sephiroth? You know the company is going to want her alive._ "

Sephiroth was silent for a moment, mind drifting to their greedy buffoon of a president, and then to Hojo and his labs. "It would be kinder for a swift, merciful death."

" _It's your hide, not mine,_ " said Genesis with a snapping of a phone closing and the beep of a cut call.

"My hide indeed," mused Sephiroth, slowly closing the phone with a sigh, "And I am, as ever, Shinra's dutiful little SOLDIER..."


	2. War was not Sin, but to war is to sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder Tags: Magic Doesn't Work that Way! Summons don't speak!
> 
> To bad, in this fic they do.
> 
> :D

In some ways, Yuna found she preferred the almost hopeless struggle against Sin to fighting in a war. The world was unified in its own way against Sin, but this war? It was... it was a slaughter. It was like Operation Mi'ihen, just... worse. Because it wasn't fiends slaughtering people, it was people slaughtering people. Sin killed many during it's reigns between Calms, but... it was relatively sporadic. Sometimes it would hit small, maybe cause a tidal wave and kill those near the coast, or throw some Sinspawn around. Occasionally it would hit a larger city and do great damage. Rarely did it full on destroy a location, and when it did, it was a big event that left its mark, like the destruction of Baaj before Yuna's time. The last time it had been truly, monstrously destructive was it's annihilation of all the Machina cities hundreds of years ago according to Yevon. Sin was a reminder of the failure of Spira's children, the destruction it levied out for the last few hundred years was nothing compared to what it was truly capable of.

Yet...

She looked across the latest blood-spattered battlefield. Sin never did anything like this. Sin was impersonal, this... this... was... to go up to someone and... gut them with a sword, run them through, hack off a limb, decapitate... it was disturbing. It was disturbing in a way she had hardly ever seen. Killing fiends was one thing, occasionally her guardians had been forced to fight living people, wouldn't have had to even then if not for Seymour, but it wasn't in bulk like this. It wasn't... it...

Yuna took a ragged breath and looked away from the aftermath of the slaughter. She trusted they would call her when they had sorted out who was in a state to be revived. Surprisingly, the souls of this land did not dissipate as quickly as those... well... pretty much everywhere else she had been. Even then, for her white magic, it was absurdly easy to call them back, even the soul could be drawn back if it hadn't left its body to long ago. She didn't understand this place, this Wutai. Still... she felt kind of awful to revive people just to send them to die again. It had been her only role for the last five battles. Arrive, revive any defender she could, maybe haste the battlefield if there were a lot of SOLDIERs, guzzle every Ether they had or could take from the dead, and heal the wounded.

It was repetitive.

And awful.

She... she _hated_ this.

Hated the silence. She was revered, but aside from the ever reverent Gorkii, hardly anyone actually talked to her. She so desperately missed her guardians, missed their constant banter. Today in particular had been grueling, Gorkii had been away directing the village, and she hadn't said a word in hours aside from chanting her magic to heal the wounded, and unless singing the Hymn of the Faith for a sending counted as a conversation, it had been even longer. Part of her felt like she was shriveling up and dying inside. How did Sir Auron go and be so quiet and precise all the time?

"It is an awful thing, isn't it?"

Yuna gave a start and glanced at a young Wutain man. A simple tunic and pants, standard black hair and eyes, a common villager, the only unique feature the odd dot in the middle of his forehead, and the... seriousness in his eyes. Eyes that could see and tell so much, like Sir Auron or Kimahri. He stood a bit rigidly, perhaps a little tense at approaching her, but she was grateful that someone actually saw her as a person and _talked_ to her.

"Yes," she whispered, "It is. I've... never seen anything quite like this before. Sin is one thing, but..."

The man cocked his head. "Sin?"

That was another thing about this strange land, _no one_ knew of Sin, that should be a good thing, that somewhere was free of it, but... "Where I come from... there is a..."

She trailed off for a moment and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. This land has enough sins of it's own without speaking of Sin."

"A... monster?" he inquired, cocking his head slightly.

She slowly shook her head. "Monster, fiend, neither properly describe what it was. Our never-ending penance."

The man studied her for a moment, as if scrutinizing every line of stress on her face. "May I sit?"

She smiled a little and motioned to the ground. "Go ahead."

There was a soft murmuring of displeasure at a distance, and she noted a few Wutain's shooting the man hostile looks. She only sighed at that and waved them away when they started to approach. It vaguely reminder her of that first awkward campfire after she become a Summoner, with Tidus trying to approach and the village elders shooing him away. Except this man wasn't quite as cute, and her own heart was far more heavy and weary than it had been back then.

She turned back to the man. "What's your name?"

He opened his mouth to speak before pausing when his eyes caught hers. Then he hesitated and said quietly. "Tseng."

He flinched a little at his own words for some reason, she wasn't quite sure why. "Nice to meet you Tseng, I'm Yuna."

"The Cetra."

She sighed and look away. "So they tell me."

"Is that not what you are?" he asked carefully.

She shrugged. "I haven't a clue. I just... woke up here in Wutai, did a bit of white magic, and everyone started revering me and calling me that."

His eyebrows furrowed. "A 'bit of white magic'?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't get it. They act like my magic is something amazing, but I've _seen_ other people in battle casting."

Tseng stared at her hard for a moment, before disbelief broke across his face. "You... truly don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what?" she asked.

He hesitated for a moment before pulling a small green crystal out of his pocket. "This is a materia, it is said to contain the memories and powers of the Ancients, the Cetra, and is how people cast magic. People cannot cast magic without it."

She stared at it, incredulous. "That... but... anyone who gets the proper training and has even the slightest aptitude for it can use magic!"

His voice grew cautious. "So there are more people like you? Who can use magic without materia?"

"There were," she said faintly, "But no one in this land appears able to."

"Hmm," mused Tseng, "Perhaps we can come to a conclusion on this if you are willing."

She shrugged and mumbled, "There's usually a few hours of downtime before I'm taken off to the next battle."

"You seem... unhappy with this arrangement?"

"I...," she began hesitatingly, "I understand that they are in the middle of a war. Gorkii tells me that I should have already met with Lord Kisaragi if I wasn't so desperately needed. Your people have such great honor and pride, but they aren't stupid. They fight because they must, but they know they can't stand up to SOLDIER without things being heavily stacked in their favor. I give them hope, a real hope, of having a chance to win."

She sighed wearily. "Bringing hope... it's been my purpose, my only purpose, ever since I became a..."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I can't even call an Aeon anymore since coming here."

Tseng looked curious but refocused on her earlier words. "You said you 'came to this land'? You weren't born on Wutai?"

"No, I'm from Besaid Islands, though I was born in Bevelle," she said.

He looked at her blankly. "I've never heard of those places."

She grew frustrated. "I don't understand... how can anyone not know of Bevelle?"

"Perhaps you should start at the beginning?" he inquired, "How did you come to Wutai?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I died."

He raised an eyebrow. "You died."

"I was run through with a spear and cast of off the peaks of Mount Gagazet," she said, voice a little hoarse, "I woke up here in Wutai afterwards. I remember hitting the ground, that brief moment of crushing pain, then... darkness. Until I woke up in a bed being tended to by the Wutai."

Tseng was raptly studying her, eyes roaming over her body in a way that briefly made her uncomfortable until she recognized he wasn't being lecherous. Lulu had tried to teach her this once, to tell when people were lying to her. The way they would tense or act or hold herself. Reading body language wasn't a skill of hers, aside from telling when someone was obviously feeling something openly.

"You're not lying," he said finally, "Or at least you don't believe you're lying."

She sighed. "And now the only one who talks to me thinks I'm crazy. Maybe this is how Tidus felt talking about his Zanarkand..."

"Lady Yuna," interrupted Gorkii, approaching and standing next to her.

She glanced up at him, "Yes?"

"Behind me, please," he said, in a warning tone as he gazed at Tseng.

Yuna frowned and slowly stood up, taking a few steps back, feeling a little uncertain.

"[You speak the foreign tongue well, to well for someone supposedly common," said Gorkii slowly, hand resting on his sword.

Tseng smiled a little. "[One cannot understand the enemy if one does not know their language.]

[Where did you learn? Who taught you? And where do you come from? None of the villagers here recognize you]," said Gorkii in a warning tone, [And where did you get that Materia?]

Tseng's smile faded into an impassive look and he slowly stood. [Am I being accused? On what charge?]

Gorkii scowled and made to speak before Tseng suddenly lunged for Yuna, the materia in his hand glowing. Gorkii whirled and pulled Yuna away just as Tseng made to grab her arm, and he vanished in a burst of light. Yuna blinked a few times, shocked. "What... just happened?"

"To trusting," Gorkii said with a scowl, "Shinra spy, exit materia, gather information, abduct Lady Yuna."

Yuna blushed and bowed her head in shame and embarrassment. She should have recognized something was off, Gorkii was right, he had spoken with a clear dialect when no other Wutai she had met could. That should have been her first clue, along with all those questions, but she had been so releived to have someone to talk to, could have jeopardized the only chance the Wutai had by her selfish desire for company. "I... I'm sorry, I..."

Gorkii sighed softly. "Not fault Lady Yuna. You know not war. Cetra were trusting, caring, of all. War not good for Lady Yuna. Know this Wutai do, apologize we do."

She looked up and smiled sadly and focused to try and correctly say the Wutain words, [I do what I must, I always have, I always will. Duty has been my life for so long, as it was for my father, it is for me."

"[You learn quickly, and you learn well]," complimented Gorkii before tilting his head, "[Your father?]"

"[Breska]," she said softly, sadly, "[He gave his life for his duty when I was young.]"

Gorkii nodded thoughtfully. "[To sacrifice for one's country is perhaps the greatest honor of all]."

Yuna smiled a little, but said nothing more. Her father hadn't died for a country, he had died for the world...

* * *

Sephiroth listened to Tseng's debriefing in a rapt silence, mulling over what was said. Tactically, he went through what was more important:

1) The Cetra's disinterest in war and how she was being handled had potential, but he doubted it could be used to turn her against the Wutai. If anything, she'd chafe more under Shinra.

2) She had no fellow allies here capable of casting magic as she could. So there was only a single Cetra. Once concentrated potential threat. Much simpler to manage.

3) She had no concept or understanding of Materia. He wasn't sure if this was a boon or not, as she could be used to fighting against more powerful magics and be better prepared. Or Materia could be different enough that she would need time to adjust to fighting against it. He'd find out eventually.

Those were the three main points he got out of the report. There were curious things, and absolute oddities to be analyzed later and...

"So the 'Cetra' is nutz then," said one of his Captains, breaking his thoughts.

Sephiroth didn't deign that a reply. He knew so little of the Cetra, what was and was not possible was not something he was going to limit his mind with, and decided to probe Tseng on one of the points. "Her lack of knowledge of Materia is an interesting development."

Tseng nodded. "I watched her cast during the battle. She had no materia equipped. There were no slots to fit Materia into either her clothes or her staff. The feeling in the air when she cast wasn't the same as when materia is used. If you draw near her when she does, you will understand, it is a difference in... _quality_ , I suppose."

He hummed in response. He supposed he'd see.

"This is all well n good," said another of the Captains, "But why didn't you just grab her and Exit from the get go?"

"My primary purpose was intelligence, not abduction," said Tseng firmly, "I did not expect to actually take her, I only attempted in order to get them to focus on safeguarding her rather than trying to find where I ended up and pursuing me. Perhaps had she been asleep, or knocked out, I would have attempted it, but with our lack of solid intel on all of her capabilities, trying to take her and get back here would have most likely ended in failure."

"Agreed," said Sephiroth firmly, "The task of capturing the Cetra falls on us."

"You really believe she is one, sir?" asked one of the Captains.

"The Wutai are not a deceptive people at heart," said Sephiroth slowly, "Falsehoods do not become them. They are an honorable people, and would not give their people false hopes. Combined with what she has done these last few battles, and the Turk's observations, I would say the chances are high, regardless of what she herself believes or understands. It may be as simple as Cetra not being the term she defines her race as, it is what we call them after all."

When the Captains remained silent, he continued on, refocusing on the objective at hand, "We've observed enough. She does not appear to adjust her patterns per battle, the next one, we will capture her. I will preform the task myself. With their forces engaged, her honor guard holds little chance of keeping her safe."

"I'm unsure of that," said Tseng swiftly, drawing Sephiroth's attention, "They watch her with a reverent devotion. I am concerned that if you go behind enemy lines for her, their forces will abandon the fight and swarm you. They will throw away the battle and their lives if it means keeping her safe."

He paused to consider something. "As Yuna said, the Wutai are not blind. They know she is their only chance in this war. Without her, it is merely a matter of peeling the onion piece by piece."

Sephiroth considered his words, acknowledging that while she had been naive enough to briefly trust the Turk readily, she wasn't stupid; before drawing a small red materia from his pocket. "If it comes down to it, I can keep the Wutai busy while I retrieve the Cetra."

Tseng nodded in approval, and why wouldn't he? Summons were quite useful...

* * *

Yuna rushed out of the woodland towards another village, Gorkii at her side, their troops rushing all around them into the fight. The two sides collided while Yuna and her guards stayed a ways away, near the edge of the woods. She kept an eye on the battle, doing her best to try and judge when she should actually cast. Ethers were not in infinite supply, and if she cast her more larger spells to early, she would drain herself and waste not only supplies, but the impact and effect. She had voiced briefly just participating in the fight, using her magic as needed, but they wanted her kept away.

For her safety.

For the massive swinging impact her spells could have at the end...

"[The Demon is here!] came a horrified cry.

Yuna's head turned sharply, and her eyes widened. The Wutai had been vague in their stories of the 'Demon of Wutai'. A man that fought like a demon, unstoppable, 'Silver Death'. Who could wade through a hundred Wutai like it was nothing. They hadn't given a direct description, but it was easy to see who he was. Dressed in black leather with silver pauldrons, his hair pure silver. He had perhaps the longest sword she'd ever seen, and he used it with deadly precision. Each swing was multiple Wutai dead, he carved a bloody and unstoppable path towards...

"[He comes for you]," said Gorkii, gripping her arm tightly, "[We must flee, now is not the time to face the demon.]

Yuna gulped nervously and nodded lowering her staff and preparing to turn. She froze when the man's eyes briefly locked on her, green catlike slits narrowing as he recognized what she was about to do. He leaped, he leaped with impossible strength, over the rest of the Wutai's forces, landing behind them and bursting forward at insane speeds.

[Flee Lady Yuna!], shouted Gorkii shoved her back. [The Demon comes for the Cetra! Wutai! To arms! To arms!]

Gorkii charged forward as the Wutai all scrambled and broke away, stragglers being cut down by the Shinra that attempted to overtake them. Sephiroth swung his sword and met Gorkii's, but his impossible strength sent the Wutai hurtling away with the clash, flopping and rolling head over heels. Yuna watched in petrified terror, and in the back of her mind, her inner Lulu voice was yelling 'Yuna! Run!', yet, she knew the futility of it. This man would overtake her in seconds. So she steeled herself, shoved her fear down, and raised her staff defiantly.

The man seemed amused by the show of courage, he turned towards the oncoming Wutai and raised a hand, a red glow surrounding an armlet on his wrist. A shiver of recognition rolled down Yuna's spine as a light shined down from above, and from it descended...

She suckered in a shuddered breath. " _Shiva..._ "

The Aeon, blue skinned, her face ever expressionless, but her hair and clothes not exactly as Yuna remembered, purple garbs and unbraided hair, raised a hand into the air, an intense blue orb appearing, and with a sinking feeling, Yuna recognized what the Aeon was about to do. Perhaps it was futile, she could not control another summoner's Aeon (though, Sephiroth did not feel like one of her fellow summoners), but she cried out all the same, " _ **Shiva**_! NO! Stop!"

Surprisingly, she did. The Aeon's energy attack faded as it whirled around, drawing a surprised exclamation from Sephiroth, and laid her eyes on Yuna. For once, the Aeon's expressionless cold face melted into pure and utter shock at the sight of Yuna. There was open, disbelieving recognition in her eyes, and longing, so much longing that it hurt to see. Yuna couldn't help but raise a beckoning hand towards the summon...

_Pop_

With a forceful burst, a red materia ripped away from Sephiroth's bangle with enough strength it briefly caused the man to stagger. The orb hurtled away towards Yuna and exploded into a red haze of energy that was absorbed into her. The moment it did, she felt Shiva again, felt her in the back of her mind that had been so hollowly empty since she came to Wutai. Yet... it was strange, Shiva felt different than before, and Yuna couldn't place why. With that, the Shiva that stood on the battlefield burst into energy and faded away.

" _We meet again Yuna, it has been a long time_ ," came Shiva's voice, just a touch of disbelief and surprise in it, " _I know not how you came here, but it is unimportant as of the moment. We must survive Calamity's Son before we speak further. Call to me my Summoner, call to me once more._ "

So she did, raising her staff into the sky and screaming, "Please! Help us!"

Ice burst out of the ground between Yuna and Sephiroth, and down from the skies descended the translucent form of Shiva, landing in the ice and absorbing energy from Yuna for the summoning, filling with color. Shiva waved a hand and shattered the ice. Standing before her was not the Shiva Sephiroth had summoned, but **_HER_ **Shiva, long blue hair in many braids. Silken blue garbs more revealing that most non-Al Bhed woman would ever wear, but irrelevant for an entity such as this. Shiva's presence so strong and more powerful than what Yuna remembered. The summon had grown since they last met, and evidently by what Shiva had said, a great deal of time had apparently passed.

She heard the demon of Wutai speak, his voice strong set, deep, powerful, but with a touch of disbelief in it at the moment, "You stole the summon? How?"

Yuna smiled, grinned really, feeling giddy beyond belief to have an old friend at her side again. "I called and she answered, as is the role and bond between a Summoner and the Fayth."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and held his blade at an angle. "So be it, _Summoner_."

Sephiroth burst forward, and Shiva rose to meet him, arms coating in ice to meet his blade in a flurry of strikes and slashes and blows. She had never seen Shiva fight like this before, not even waiting for any kind of command. There was a level of independence in the Aeon that hadn't been there before. Yuna couldn't say she didn't like the initiative. In fact, she didn't have to concentrate so much to maintain the summoning, she could fight too! What in the world had happened to the Fayth to change them like this?

She hasted Shiva, casting Shell and Protect on her as well. The Aeon briefly overpowered the surprised Sephiroth, backhanding him and sending him to the ground. The Wutai drew closer and charged at the downed man. Then...

Then the battle changed.

Yuna didn't even see Sephiroth get to his feet, one moment he was on the ground, the next he was up and slaughtering the Wutai around him while fighting off Shiva at the same time. Yuna's grin faded away into a look of pure horror. Despite the increased strength of Shiva, Sephiroth was easily holding her off. Shiva's words echoed in Yuna's mind, of 'Surviving Calamity's Son'. She didn't know why he was called that, but she understood that Shiva herself had known she couldn't win. This man was... _unreal_. There was a very real chance he could have taken her entire party of Guardians without breaking a sweat, perhaps even all of her Aeons at the point when she lost to Seymour.

Suddenly, she understood just how badly off the Wutai really were.

Suddenly, she knew that this man was the true threat to Wutai. Forget the army, forget the SOLDIERs, this man would be the death of Wutai.

Suddenly, she realized they couldn't stop him.

Shiva recognized it to, her voice echoing in Yuna's mind, " _Yuna, run. I will delay him_."

Yuna didn't hesitate. She turned tail and didn't look back. The Wutai sounding the retreat as she did. Yuna briefly cast a battlefield wide haste on their forces before taking off into the woods...

* * *

Sephiroth crossed his arms, waiting impatiently as Shinra moved into the recently taken village and set up inside. "Get Genesis and Angeal and Director Lazard on a video conference as soon as possible, I don't care what they are doing at the moment."

"Yes sir!"

He was led into a hut, and to a waiting laptop. Several minutes later, a conference room appeared on the screen, though it was not only the three requested, it was the entire Board of Directors.

President Rupert Shinra, cigarette half way to his lips, was the first to speak, voice mild, "I trust this is important, Sephiroth, we were in the middle of a meeting."

Sephiroth didn't particularly care. "I am recalling both Genesis and Angeal from HQ to Wutai."

A single eyebrow raised. "That's against procedure Sephiroth. You don't have the authority to do so, and I've told you all before that we're not having all three of you there at once. The war will last as long as I deem it should."

"That was then, this is now," said Sephiroth slowly, "There is an actual threat."

"The 'Cetra'?" questioned Shinra, glancing down at a few papers on his desk, "That was a subject we were going to discuss in a few minutes, you have your orders already in that regard. She can't possible match you, we made you the best."

Sephiroth resisted the urge to glare at the man.

Hojo's voice interrupted, drawing a scowl from Shinra, "Sephiroth would not desire a change of tactics unless he deemed it necessary. If he deems the Cetra a threat, he should be listened to. Something obviously happened, if the child in question would so kindly elaborate?"

Sephiroth shot Hojo a look, he hadn't been a child in a long time. "She stole the summon Shiva from me."

Genesis scoffed. "Stole it? You let her take it out of..."

"No," said Sephiroth, "The Materia ripped free on its own, shattered into energy, and was absorbed by the Cetra. She was then able to summon a much more powerful and capable variant."

There was a brief murmur of surprise, Hojo merely adjusted his glasses. "Fascinating, but that on it's own shouldn't be enough to concern you."

"I am thinking ahead; Shiva does not concern me," said Sephiroth, " _Leviathan_ does."

The massive tidal waves the Great Serpent could unleash were already devastating against their forces. It did _not_ need to be empowered.

He noted Genesis and Angeal tense as they understood the implications; he continued, "Leviathan is the only way Wutai have ever been able to truly slow our advance if myself, Genesis, or Angeal are on the battlefield. If she obtains and empowers the summon, Lady Yuna will become a legitimate threat to our occupation. While myself, Angeal, or Genesis could survive and emerge victorious, an enhanced Leviathan will decimate our forces. I doubt anything less than a 2nd Class could even survive initial contact. She will be capable of driving us back, as even one of us may have difficulties taking on that particular summon and Wutai's forces at once."

He hesitated only briefly before admitting, "I had to put more effort into facing Shiva and the Wutai than I have ever had to before in this war."

Not even close to his full potential, but enough to demand that he be mindful his foe and give the respect deserved.

"My oh my, did a little girl make you sweat?" mocked Genesis lightly.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly. "I do not say this lightly Genesis. This is the first time the Wutai have provided a true challenge to our forces, we have lost the last six battles to them since her appearance, which was before she even obtained the summon, we only emerged victorious this last one because I was there. I will not take lightly nor underestimate this foe."

"Six?" said Shinra sharply, "We lost _six_ battles?"

"She was a surprise the first one, and we did not know where she would end up the two after," said Sephiroth carefully, "When we did, the others were, while intentionally started to gauge her potential, not intentionally lost. Unfortunately she was never forced to deviate from her current strategy despite its simplicity; its just purely effective."

Shinra crushed the cigarette in his hands into an ashtray. "Genesis and Angeal will be joining you shortly. I want this Cetra captured within two weeks and the Wutai taught a lesson in defying the Company. Shinra tolerates no competition."

Somehow, he didn't think it would be that easy. But then again, it's why he called for his friends, because all three of them together on one battlefield? That hadn't happened since the early portions of the war, when Sephiroth had been twelve, turning thirteen, when age and lack of experience had been his weakness that he had needed others to cover for. The pure destruction they had been capable of back then wouldn't compare to what they could do now. If they could get at Yuna, it would be over quickly. A simple chop to a pressure point from Angeal could knock her out easily, assuming a Cetra had the same points. A sleep spell from Genesis had the potential to overpower her. If need be, Sephiroth could simply just bind her and haul her off the battlefield if need be. Assuming there were no complications of course, from her or the Wutai.

He recalled that defiant expression on her face when she had realized she couldn't escape with nothing to distract him...

She was a complication all of her own, a fierce will in those blue and green eyes. He wondered what she actually could have done if he hadn't unknowingly given her an escape by using the summon. He supposed he'd find out soon enough...


	3. Harsh Truths of Days Long Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making up certain pieces of lore as we go, don't mind me. It's mixed in with truth and assumptions.
> 
> [Text] = Wutai language.
> 
> |Text| = Aeon language, translated to Yuna.
> 
> Warning: Dark thoughts, depression, crushed dreams and hopes. Yuna has a really bad few days.

Yuna's legs were exhausted by the time she reached the rendezvous point and she couldn't help but buckle to the ground. She had felt Shiva's defeat some time ago, but hadn't paid any further heed in her haste to get as much distance between herself and the Silver General. She collapsed to her knees, huffing and puffing, and leaned back against a tree, watching as the Wutai survivors ran into the clearing. It was like all of her efforts had been undone, they had amassed a rather larger group of warriors, collecting volunteers from the village defenders, many of which Yuna had revived herself.

Then the Demon showed up, and everything went south _instantly_.

" _You have limited understanding of the power that sleeps within him._ _There is only one entity that you have encountered that could destroy Calamity's Son_ ," came Shiva's tired voice, " _It would have taken Sin itself to do the deed, and perhaps not even then. Even though Sin had the power, the mobility of Calamity's Son in a battle might mean he would never be touched."_

Yuna squirmed at the thought of anything beside a Final Aeon being powerful enough to actually challenge Sin. The power Shiva hinted at was mind-boggling.

Shiva's voice tensed. " _A final Aeon... that's, right, you don't know, do you?_ "

Yuna's eyebrows furrowed. Know what?

" _Summon me when you have the energy,_ " said Shiva warily, " _I fear we have much to discuss, about deceptions from your time, the truth about the Fayth, Sin, and Yevon._ "

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Yuna's stomach...

* * *

Yuna walked, as if in a trance, Shiva walking at her side. Yuna's face was utterly pale, devoid of any kind of emotion, a blank mask, her eyes so hollowed out no one dared to look at her...

Sin had nothing to do with _penance_. The entire Yevon faith was a lie, outright told to her by a Fayth. Sin had been created to destroy machina or any large settlement to stall people from developing technology in order to preserve a _dream_. A summoner, _a summoner_ , had created Sin, Yu Yevon, who the Yevon faith had based itself around. They prayed to their destroyer, every time they made that gesture, every time they bowed their heads, they gave thanks to the one who had slaughtered them for the last thousand years. While the Fayth had dreamed of their fairy-tale Zanarkand, Spira was torn apart again and again, so many lost for such _selfishness_. A thousand years of Summoners had died, had sacrifice themselves for **_nothing_**.

Her father had sacrificed himself for _**nothing**_.

Subtle tremors ran down Yuna's body. So much anger, grief and sorrow pooled around her, and with no one to turn to, no friends to share her pain with, she bottled it inside and struggled. She did not cry, she couldn't bring herself to overcome the shock rippling through her. She wanted to scream, scream to the heavens and howl her lungs until they burst and gave her release. Some part of her wanted to take her staff and bludgeon Shiva to death, re-summon the Aeon, and do it again. She wanted to lash out at everything, and had she Lulu's affinity with black magic, she might have burnt the woods around her to ash in her all consuming grief. It was a black maw in her soul.

And there was no one there to drag her out of it.

The Aeon made no further comment as Yuna tried to swallow the horrific truth so coolly and brutally shoved down her throat. Shiva, was as she ever was, calm and ruthless, and offered no comfort or placation or even an apology. Interacting with Yuna... unsettled Shiva, but aside from that, the Aeon hadn't changed much...

Yuna... Yuna needed something else, to talk, to focus on _**anything** _else, or she was going to drown in the pit she was falling into. "Why... were you so surprised to see me?"

Shiva head briefly turned, and her mouth let unintelligible words slip from her lips, translated through the bond between Summoner and Aeon. |You died, countless years ago, on another planet.|

Yuna's walking briefly hitched. "Countless... another... what?"

Shiva faced forward again. |This world is not Spira, but in a manner of speaking, you could consider it an adopted child.|

Yuna swallowed, _hard_. "Could... you explain that?"

|The children of Spira fled the disaster befalling the world, the battle between True Sin and the Calamity,| said Shiva gravely, |They landed on this world, and begun their lives anew, carrying stores of energy from the Farplane that, in an accident, sank into this world. Thus did Gaia inherit from Spira, learning from fragments of Spira's memories and dead. Certain Fayth were amongst the dead, and reborn as Higher Powers, as true separate entities, in the days of old before the Calamity followed us here.|

Yuna licked her lips. "What... was True Sin?"

Shiva was silent for a long moment before she spoke, |The one known as Seymour achieved his goals. He merged with Sin, usurped Yu Yevon, and took direct control, consuming the Dream for power and stripping the Fayth of their own. He began annihilating all life from Spira, to try and then remake it in his image.|

Yuna's world felt like it was shattering all over again, and this time, she had to stop and lean against a tree, tears streaming down her face. "I... I failed... I died and I failed to stop him..."

Shiva stood waiting beside her, watching, emotionless, not a word of comfort. Several Wutai paused to watch, but others warded them off, she heard vaguely reference of a [communion between Cetra and the guardian of the planet], but she brushed them off, focusing on her breathing. "How... how many died?"

|Eventually all of those who could not flee the world would have died, if not to True Sin, than to the Calamity,| said Shiva, |The entire planet would be torn apart and destroyed.|

Yuna closed her eyes and said nothing for a long while, resting her forehead against the tree, taking continual deep, ragged breath, every calming technique taught by the priests of Yevon, and her own friends, failing to sooth her grief. Spira was **_dead_**. The entire world was _gone_. She was alone, the last Spiran. The crippling isolation hit her and nearly caused her legs to buckle. She could feel it clawing at her mind, so once again, she forced herself to bottle it away, and asked, her voice hoarse, "What... is the Calamity?"

At that, Shiva showed anger, disgust, and even fear. |Parasite, Glutton of the Feast, Whore of Souls, Devourer of Worlds, Heaven's Dark Harbinger. It was an entity that was drawn to Spira from the actions of True Sin, feeling its power and the constant stream of spiritual energy circling the planet from mass death. It landed and began to infect and twist our world, defiling the dead, the unsent, fiends, and even the Farplane itself. It challenged True Sin for the soul of the world, and last I noted before our energy was drawn from the Farplane to power the vessel to sail the stars, the Calamity was winning, and evidently won to pursue us here.|

Shiva's lips peeled back into a sneer. |We thought we were better prepared to fight the Calamity this time, but its tactics were different. It was more... subtle than acting with brute force and speed. It adapted to this world in ways we could not foresee, and if not for the descendants of Spira, the ones the children of this world call 'Cetra', the Calamity would have consumed this world as well.|

Yuna was having a difficult time not drowning in the horror spilling from the Aeon's lips, so instead, she focused on the one unimportant thing it had said, "I guess you could consider me a Cetra then."

|In a manner of speaking, it would not be untrue,| admitted Shiva, |But you were their predecessor, the survivors of Spira had already lost much of themselves and the old ways during their journey through the stars. Even the Cetra could not wield magic in the way those of Spira could, though, they did learn to commune with their Planet in ways Spiran's never did, and developed their own powers. Some of which could rival Spiran's.|

Shiva grew briefly amused. |Holy here, and Holy on Spira, are two vastly different things after all.|

Yuna's eyes furrowed in confusion, but Shiva gave no further explanation. She thought briefly of the highest White Magic, she had toyed with it a few times, but hadn't mastered it by the time they met Seymour. She wondered if having more offense herself might have made the difference, rather than just healing and supporting her Guardians.

Her Guardians...

"What... happened to the others?" she whispered, "Tidus, Lulu, Wakka... Sir Auron... Kim..."

|Yuna,| cut off the Aeon firmly, |You already know this answer. They fought until they could fight no more.|

This time, Yuna couldn't withstand it. She crumpled to the ground, and she sobbed her heart out, grief radiating from her in a wail as despair took her...

* * *

She awoke to gentle shakes of her shoulder some time later, and blearly looked up to see Gorkii, a bit roughed up but alive, leaning over her. [Lady Yuna?]

Yuna closed her eyes briefly, yearning for the darkness that had kept her from any conscious thought of her reality, and shoved it all away. "I'm fine."

The man helped her up, but did not let go, eyes narrowed. [No, you are not. I've heard your guards speaking, what did the Guardian of the Planet say to you?]

Pain wretched across Yuna's face briefly before she walled it off, forcing an emotionless mask across her face. "She told me some harsh realities, and you will **_not_** question me further on them."

Gorkii was briefly taken aback by her hostility, but merely nodded and stepped away. "Guardian walks the trees, the land, waiting for you awaken. Sight Wutai never seen."

Yuna's eyes briefly furrowed. Shiva was still summoned? Even while Yuna had been unconscious? She vaguely recalled Shiva mentioning walking the lands in 'Ancient' times'. She wondered how that was possible, before dismissing it as irrelevant . A Aeon could walk around, so what? Let Shiva and her harsh truths be somewhere else besides next to Yuna or in her head for the time being. Yuna was not sure she could survive anything else at the moment.

She wasn't sure she could even survive what she _had_ heard...

"Where are we going to go?" she asked.

"Capital," said Gorkii, "Meet Lord Kisaragi."

Yuna nodded and started following behind a trail of Wutai heading further into Wutai without a word. Shiva rejoined them a few hours later. The Aeon's face did not change, but their was a hint, just a hint, of relaxation in the summon's form. She was pleased to be out and about instead of... what had she been? Trapped in that red materia? How did that even happen? She couldn't find herself caring enough to ask, or even watch the continual awe in the faces of the Wutai at the sight of the Summoner and her Aeon, or to them, the Cetra and the 'Guardian of the Planet'.

More needless worship.

And now that she knew the worship of Yevon, of the respect the Summoners were given, was all a lie, it **_grated_**. She longed so badly for her friends, for Tidus again, for him to hold her like he had done in the lake, for all of her troubles to fade for just a moment because something better replaced them...

She feared she'd never have that again.

She forced herself to march. Because as much as the role of the Summoner was fake, she had a duty to help the Wutai. She could not let them down as she had let down Spira... she couldn't... to that end...

"Shiva, what other Aeons are here on Gaia?" she asked.

Shiva tilted her head. |In complete form?|

Yuna frowned. "What do you mean by 'complete form'?"

"|Yu Yevon created us out of the souls of those who dwelt in the original Zanarkand,| said Shiva, |While we are of one mind, our souls were composed of many. The energy of the Farplane that was absorbed into Gaia contained many fragments of all of our souls. But only three others save for myself retained enough of themselves.|

As much as Yuna felt herself beginning to loath her Aeons, she did find comfort in that there were more connections to Spira here. "Who?"

|Ifrit and Bahamut,| said Shiva before frowning, |There is another, but even to this day she drowns herself in pain and sorrow, refusing to make herself known. Ironically, it allowed her to avoid our fate.|

"Who?" asked Yuna, curious.

|Anima,| said Shiva, scowling.

Yuna's eyes went wide. "Seymour's summon?!"

Shiva did not comment further. Yuna was... rather surprised to see the dislike the Aeon held to it's fellow. There was silence for a short time before Shiva spoke again.

|However, we are not alone, the four of us,| advised the summon, |Gaia created others like us, new kin. One of which we slowly draw near.|

Yuna blinked a few times. New Aeons? Well... this would be interesting she supposed...

* * *

For several days they marched, stopping briefly at villages to resupply and then move forward. Until at last, they left behind the array of mountains and woodland, coming into a wide open and flat area. Off in the distance was a larger village, but steadily growing closer. At first glance, she didn't think it that big, certainly not Bevelle or Luca. Perhaps half way between them and Killika. Already at a distance however, she could see people lining the edges of the village, probably to get a look at her if she had to guess. She took a brief moment to steel herself, and put on her most fake-pleasant face she could. These people needed hope...

And that was all she had ever been good for giving... even if was always a lie.

Yevon had been a lie.

And she wasn't sure she could honestly do anything against the Demon of Wutai.

Lies and false-hopes, her entire life...

She kept her head up and walked into the capital village ( _it was odd to say that instead of city_ ), listening to cheers and awed sounds of the sight of her and the Aeon. Perhaps not exactly the sight of the Aeon itself, this world had summons, but more of it walking around and simply being there rather than called for fighting. Even back on Spira, Yuna had rarely done this, called her Aeons for anything but battle. Here though, Shiva walked around as if it were her birthright to. Not that Yuna really minded so long as the Aeon wasn't ramming world shattering truths down Yuna's throat.

They were met by a delegation of men. At their head was a serious looking man dressed in a purple kumono with a black trim over a white robe, held closed by a white sash. He had black hair and eyes, a pointed mustache, beard, and eyebrows as well. She couldn't quite get an exact read of his build with his clothes, but from what she could see he was physically strong. All of the men deeply bowed to her and Shiva before righting themselves.

The lead man spoke in a rather complete form compared to anyone but that one spy, "You honor us with your presence Lady Yuna, I am Lord Godo Kisaragi."

She bowed back in normal custom. "It is an honor to meet you as well Lord Kisaragi."

She righted herself in time to see the man's face twitch a bit. "You are as humble as the Cetra were ever said to be."

She gave a brief, tight smile, but didn't reply.

Godo's eyes briefly flickered to Shiva, Yuna figured he was unsure of how to address her, before refocusing on Yuna. "We have asked for your presence here after receiving reports of your latest battle, against the demon. You shattered a materia, and now a Guardian of the Planet walks the world..."

"As it used to be," said Shiva in perfect common tongue, causing everyone present a startled jolt, "Before we were trapped in little red prisons."

Godo's face _paled,_ and horrified gasps sounded from his fellows and civilians close enough to hear. "Prisons? We... we did not know!"

Shiva merely leveled her emotionless gaze on him, no condemnation or judgement in her eyes either . "I did not say you did."

Godo nodded slowly, struggling to control himself for a moment, before swiftly kneeling infront of Yuna and pulling a red materia out from his robes, holding it up to her. "Knowing this, we ask you, beg you, as the People of the Leviathan, to set our patron free."

Yuna stared curiously down at the red gem, reaching a hand out to cautiously touch it. The presence that brushed across her mind was unfamiliar, but in her ears she heard the rushing of a river, the laps of waves on a beach, the smell of an ocean, and whispered a word that echoed into her mind, "Leviathan..."

The materia shattered into a red mist that was absorbed into Yuna. She felt the presence, the _powerful_ presence, of another Aeon in the back of her mind. While no Aeon was ever the same as another, Leviathan felt distinctly different than Shiva did. But why wouldn't he? He was born of Gaia, while Shiva, even being reborn here, was originally from Spira. There was a difference of age, and a subtly echo of home that Leviathan lacked. But what he did more than make up for was sheer power. The image that appeared in her mind, the Great Serpent, was not to be trifled with.

" _Call to me young one,_ " came the voice of the snake, " _I yearn once more to ride free the rivers, bath in the lakes, and explore the oceans._ "

Yuna closed her eyes and smiled a little. " _Technically, I'm older than you since I'm from before you were born._ "

There was a huff of amusement. " _Very well then, ancient one, let me free._ "

She wasn't sure it was much better, but the teasing did brief wonders for her mood. She raised her staff into the sky and cried out. "I call to you, Great Serpent, arise Leviathan!"

Water from the streams running through the capital surged into the air like a funnel, condensing in a massive sphere. The water burst, showering the village, though no one complained, and out of it flew a mighty and long form. Pristine turquoise scales rippled as it flew through the air over the cheering and awed Wutai. It had several sets of translucent scaly wings down it's body, and from it's face, long whiskers taller than several people. It's bright yellow eyes took in the area, flying off and then circling back, seeming to enjoy it's newfound freedom. Finally, the Serpent dove down, slipping into the streams in the village, submerging its body save for it's head, which stayed aloft to look at Yuna.

" _If ever a need you have, ancient one, merely call and I will answer_ ," offered the Serpent to her mind.

Yuna bowed to Leviathan. "Thank you."

Then Yuna's eyes flicker to see a child run free of her mother to Leviathan, wrapping her tiny arms as tightly to it as she can. The Serpent's head twitched a little as a tense hush ran through the village, but it merely chuckled, though Yuna wasn't certain the hissing escaping it's mouth could be interpreted as such without a summoners bond. Yuna decided to laugh, not that she needed to force it at the sight, and smiled. Numbers of other children rushed over at that, crowding their patron with awe, and not just a few hints of love.

" _They are devoted_ ," Yuna mused to Leviathan.

" _That they are,_ " agreed the Serpent, " _And thus are they cherished._ "

Yuna could feel a twang of bemusement from Shiva at the sight. Leviathan's eyes flickered to her, prodding hisses escaping it's lips, |No need for jealousy cold one.|

|I've had people worship and adore me before,| replied Shiva in her ever dry tone, |One way or another, it never lasts. Cherish them while you may.|

There was a flicker of understanding, from an elder Aeon advising a younger one on what could be lost. Leviathan merely tilted its head into the waiting hands of the children. Yuna wondered, just what Shiva had felt for the people who worshiped her on a lie...

|A lie it may have been, Summoner,| Shiva's voice echoed in her head, turning to stare at her, |But we never intended it to go that far, Yu Yevon was not meant to lose his mind, and thus control of Sin. Nor did the Fayth have any direct involvement with the emergence of the Yevon faith. We did not ask for worship, but Spira gave it freely. What I felt however, is for I, and I alone, to know.|

Yuna resisted the urge to scowl at Shiva in public. Intention or not, Sin was what happened. She could feel her mood plummeting, and decided she had enough of Aeons for one day, for good or ill. She turned to Lord Kisaragi who was still watching Leviathan and the young with an odd childlike wonder for someone his age. "Is there some place I could eat and rest?"

The man recomposed himself and firmly nodded. "Of course Lady Yuna, allow me to show you..."

* * *

It had been to long since Yuna had a hot bath, and a very nice hot meal. Since before Seymour, well before Mount Gagazet even. It was a reminder how such simple things could do wonders for one's mood. Had settled her enough to lay down and sleep, in an actual comfortable bed, before she had been summoned by Lord Kisaragi. For what reasons that couldn't wait until tomorrow she didn't know. She was exhausted from the last few days, few weeks honestly. It was selfish of her to desire rest over offering any possible aid to the Wutai, but...

She had little room to complain when she was walked into what she determined was a war council speaking in urgent tones, fear radiating through the room. She was lead to a small cushion to kneel on beside a large table the council was gathered around, and the speaking silenced with but a raise of Lord Kisaragi's hand. He turned to Yuna, and she could see so many things in his eyes at that moment. But it was the hope when he looked at her that hurt the most. It was desperate. Something had happened, and they needed her more than ever.

[We have received word from a messenger than Shinra's offensive has begun anew with fierce fervor,] said Lord Kisaragi, [Even worse is who leads it. The Silver Demon, the Crimson Commander, and the Honorable SOLDIER are all here, fighting together, as they have not been since the start.]

Yuna's throat went dry. Sephiroth, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal Hewely, she had heard enough about them all, and seen the first, to understand just how bad this was. Bad did not come close to describing it. "They've come because of me."

One of the others spoke, [They fear the Cetra, they fear you Lady Yuna, so they marshal their best.]

Yuna didn't say anything right away, appearing to mull it over when it was a foregone conclusion. She had been there, seen Sephiroth fight. A single hit would be all he needed to snap her like a twig with his inhuman strength. The other two were unnecessary, overkill, she had trouble thinking of any way to challenge the Demon of Wutai alone. Even with Leviathan she didn't know if she could stall him, let alone stop him. But the other two most powerful SOLDIERs to go with him?

It was like being a Summoner all over again, setting out on her pilgrimage.

Setting out to die.

But like the good little Summoner she always had been, she reassured them she'd fight, that she'd call upon her power, on Shiva and Leviathan. She would too, she'd give it everything she had and hold nothing back. She'd try to bring Wutai peace, a 'calm' to the war. She gave them hope, a reprieve from their suffering. But this time, unlike the last, she herself knew it would be for nothing.

She doubted she'd manage to defeat even one of the top SOLDIERs if they had any kind of teamwork between them.

When the meeting drew to a close, Lord Kisaragi bid her follow him. She did so, hiding her reluctance to delay one last full night of sleep before she set out to die. He led her into a small, private room. Kneeling on the floor was a young Wutain girl, five at most if not younger, black hair, a small blue headband under the bangs of her hair. She had a light sleeveless blue and yellow hooded vest, underneath that a barely white singlet and shorts. The girl's hands were clasping the hands of a very pale woman who laid stricken in bed.

"My wife and child," said Lord Kisaragi softly.

Ah, Yuna understood.

She walked forward without further prompting and knelt beside the bed. She silently thanked Kimahri for painstakingly teaching her his ability to sense in depth. It was more than useful for figuring out the strengths and abilities of enemies when she had a chance to be still in battle and use it. In other ways, it could be useful for gauging the sick. And this woman... was very ill. Vileness spread throughout the majority of her body, deep into her core, her bones. It was settled in a way that would be difficult to treat, and left on its own, assuredly fatal, were Yuna not so skilled in White Magic.

She had failed to stop Seymour...

Failed to save Spira...

Was going to fail to save Wutai and die...

But at least she could save a mother, a wife, and spare this one family pain, even if she had to give up much of her last restful night.

So she gently clasped her hands over the daughter and mother's hands, looked into the girl's tear-stained and begging eyes, before Yuna smiled and began to glow with light...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, Yuna is having a really rough time.
> 
> Its going to steadily get worse before it gets better.
> 
> Which is quite a bit far off for the time being.


	4. Martial Power against Spiritual Might

By the time Yuna had gotten back to the 'front', Wutai had been pushed back over half of their landmass. SOLDIER had barely rested, barely stopped, taking one village one forest, one valley, one fort at a time, day and night. Yuna had been stunned to see a map with it all shown out just what had been taken. In about a week, from when she had left the front to when she returned, they had lost so much. Yuna didn't want to know, want to fathom, how many people had been mercilessly killed and walked over in that timeframe.

It made her yearn for facing Sin.

And that brought a hysterical bubble to the back of her throat that she had to force down.

She already knew she was a walking dead woman, but this... even Sin took breaks, even Sin paused his slaughter, lurking under the tides of the ocean. There was an air of helplessness all around her, and the only thing stopping it from becoming an all devouring depression and despair was her. They looked to her, desperate, eyes pleading, so fearful, looking for any sign of weakness or fear or defeat in her face. A single showing of it, of letting them know it was over, and they'd crumple. So she kept that emotionless mask her face had become, and simply stared at the map, listened to the reports, showing nothing of what she thought.

Perhaps it would have been better for her to show the truth instead, maybe less Wutains would die if she did.

Either way, the butchery needed to end.

Had to end.

So she pointed to the next fort in Shinra's path, and that was where they would make their stand.

Where she would make her stand.

Alone.

* * *

Yuna watched, staff held loosely towards the ground, unreacting, as she stood just outside the gates of the Wutai Fort, one of the last three before Fort Tamblin, Wutai's last line of defense. Slowly, Shinra emerged from the treeline, but stayed at the edges. Masses of SOLDIERs, with infantry behind them. At their head were the three generals, who stopped a few feet from the treeline. She didn't immediately turn her attention to Sephiorth, instead turning her head to study the other two.

Genesis Rhapsodos, pretty face, redheaded, red leather, red sword at his waist. There was a recurring theme there. He did not look physically strong, which was odd to her considering SOLDIER's strength. Few of them had the muscles, save perhaps Angeal, that would even hint at their pure raw might. It had something to do with how they were empowered she figured, Wutai didn't have a clear idea how they got their strength but knew they were 'enhanced'. Physical strength, while he would most likely be as strong if not stronger than regular SOLDIERs, wasn't his fortee. She could feel his **_raw_ **magical might. In that regard he might even be stronger than Sephiroth, it was hard to tell, he was far stronger magically than anyone she had known, Lulu included. The man's eyes were studying her in turn before he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, as if asking 'well?'.

She didn't answer the question, and instead turned her gaze to Angeal Hewely. His clothing, unlike Genesis and Sephiroth, was similar to other SOLDIERs. His arms were bare, showing their muscular form. Hus hair was a little messy, with long sideburns and a little fuzz on his chin. His face was set serious, and held himself at the ready. Upon his back he bore a massive sword, bigger even than Sir Auron's. Oddly, he had a second sword at his waist, small and meek in comparison. Her eyes briefly crinkled at that, curious. Angeal didn't particularly react to that, save for a slight twitch in his eye, the upward hint of amusement on his lips that she would have missed if she wasn't dead staring at him. Her confusion over his swords amused him for some reason.

She finally set her gaze on Sephiroth and spoke, her voice harsh, ringing from one end of the soon-to-be-battlefield to another, "Leave."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and took a few strides forward before coming to a stop and calling out, "Leave, Lady Yuna?"

"This is the only warning I will give you," she said firmly, " _Butchers_ like you are not welcome in these lands."

None of the SOLDIERs visibly reacted. They certainly had to know what she was talking about. Whether they felt anything at all, she did not know.

"We've given Wutai ample opportunity to come to an agreement," said Sephiroth calmly, "Every ceasefire we have had, every attempt at negotiations has failed at their adamant refusals to budge an inch."

Yuna frowned a little. There had been peace attempts? That she hadn't been told. Still..., "And your response when such talks fail is to burn villages to the ground? Murder innocents?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly at her. "The beginning of the war was harsh, in ways that even we SOLDIERs do not look back on with pride. We do not deny this, but such levels of violence and subjugation have not been utilized in some time."

Interesting to note, but whats done was done, so she merely shook her head. "Subjugation by blade or by boot is still subjugation."

Sephiroth tilted his head in surprising acknowledgement. "I suppose it is. The question remains however, what do you intend to do here, Lady Yuna?"

Her eyes furrowed a little. What did he think she was going to do by coming out here? Surrender? Beg mercy? She had opened with her intentions pretty bare and forward...

Then again, that wasn't actually an impossible concept. She imagined negotiations had been instigated like this, a single person going out to meet the invading force. They did not know if she had come to parley, or to fight. Perhaps to them, a single person fighting their power alone was an inconceivable notion. Even though she would lose, would die, she would do her best to rob them of that superiority.

She raised her staff and gripped it tightly. "If you do not leave Wutai, I will _make you_."

Sephiroth studied her silently, eyes flickering to the top of the Fort's walls, at the Wutai watching but not interfering, not even a bow nocked or a gun raised. "By yourself...?"

She pursed her lips. "We both know I'm the only thing standing in Shinra's way. I wont have other people needlessly die for me just to get in your way."

There was a bit of movement behind Sephiroth, from Hewely, a look of approval on his face and respect in his eyes. Genesis scoffed lightly under his breath, and Sephiroth merely tilted his head, understanding and acknowledging her words. "Admirable. Unfortunately for you, we will not back down. We have our orders, as I imagine you do."

"I do not fight, I do not stand up for what is right because I was ordered to," she countered, "Wutai has made no demands of me and I am not bound to them, I fight for these people because I want to help them. No more. No less."

Sephiroth looked thoughtful. "You have no binding ties to the Wutai then?"

"No."

"They haven't been harboring you or your family here?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm fairly certain you've already heard back from your _spy_ on how I came to be here."

Sephiroth hummed briefly. "I thought to confirm it."

"You came here for one reason and one reason only," said Yuna, struggling to hide the despair under her hostility, "Are you going to attack? Or are you going to leave?"

Sephiroth didn't immediately reply, studying her intently for a moment before answering, "Understanding one's opponent is half the battle. Entering into one without that understanding leaves you half blind."

He thought he could understand her from a few words? "And what, do tell, have you 'discovered'?"

Sephiroth's response was instant. "That you will give everything for a cause you believe in, up to and including your life, even if you believe its hopeless and you stand no chance."

Yuna's throat went dry and her grip on her staff turned her hands white.

"Nail on the head," mused Angeal, barely loud enough to hear.

"I will still offer you the courtesy of a chance to surrender," said Sephiroth.

"And I'll still offer you the chance to leave," she said, her eyes briefly flickering to those behind him, "Or at least pull your forces back. I will not surrender, and I will not hold back. If they stay, they will die."

"Pity," mused Sephiroth before he narrowed his eyes, "And foolish, I can close the distance before you have a chance to summon. They are in no danger."

" _Now Leviathan_ ," sent Yuna before a grim look overtook her face. "Well it's a good thing I did that before hand, isn't it?"

A great hiss filled the air and the Patron of the Wutai flew over the Fortress with a roar. Sephiroth sprang back and away from her, drawing his sword as did his commanders and SOLDIERs. A absolutely massive and towering torrent of water surged from the ground behind the fort, parting around both it and Yuna, before coming together and hurtling at the Shinra army. The three top SOLDIERs had enough reflexes to brace themselves, perhaps some of the lesser SOLDIERs did to, but no one was able to get out of the way. The flood smashed into Shinra, removing them from view for a moment before the water flew outward into the woods.

Or what was left of them.

Yuna had a brief moment to wince at the sight of the devastated nature behind the flattened and scattered army before she called out, "Shiva! NOW!"

The second Aeon leaped over the wall of the Fort, landing and slamming a fist into the sudden-wetlands. Water froze in an ever spreading ripple. The vast majority of SOLDIER and any surviving infantry were still stunned. The water froze with many still underneath or facedown in it. She watched grimly, as almost all of the army was trapped like this. They'd all be dead within minutes. It was nauseating to kill them all so brutally. Suffocation and/or drowning was an awful way to go.

There was an audible crack as Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal broke free of their icy prison and stood, impressively finding their footing on the ice.

Angeal looked back in completely and utter horror. There were less than ten SOLDIERs who appeared to have broken free like them and survived. "Gods... she just..."

"I warned you," said Yuna in a clipped tone as Shiva moved to stand in front of her protectively, and Leviathan floated overhead, hissing menacingly.

" _The arrow has left the bow of the goddess_ ," spat Genesis, enraged, "You are a viscous little thing, aren't you?"

Sephiroth's face was the most chilling. His eyes washed over the death and destruction before turning back to her, coldness in his eyes. There was a spark of anger, of rage, but he kept it tightly controlled. He didn't speak to her, he merely readied his blade, eyes flickering to Shiva and Leviathan, weighing odds. "Genesis, take Shiva. I will take Leviathan, Angeal, subdued and capture the Ancient."

Yuna blinked, taken offguard. Capture? They wanted to capture her? Not kill her?

Shiva shoved Yuna away as a large fireball erupted from Genesis's hands, sparking the battle. Sephiroth leaped after Leviathan, and then Yuna had no more time to pay any other SOLDIER or an Aeon attention as Angeal burst at her. She had a split second to cast haste on herself and barely manage to throw herself out of the way, dodging fist thrust right at her stomach. She lashed out with her staff and cringed as it hit his side with a 'plunk' and did nothing but make her arm shake. It was like she had hit a wall.

He turned, and this time she didn't get a chance to dodge as he swung a leg and smashed it into her stomach. She screamed in agony as she was sent flying, blood and spit and even a bit of whatever was left of her last meal bursting out of her mouth. She felt her ribs crack and break, her innards shaking and shifting at the immense impact, her spine almost felt pushed out alignment from the blow. She hit the icy ground and kept on rolling and skidding heads over heals. Sharp ice ripped open her face and arms, tore into her clothes, until she finally came to a stop, moaning, unable to stop tears of pain from slipping down her face.

She took a ragged breath, bit back a scream of agony as she struggled to rise to her feet despite her body's damage. She managed to raise her staff into the air and give a warbled, "C-curaga!"

Light washed over her, and she couldn't stifle the cry of pain as bones snapped back into place and mended, it felt like her innards were being rearranged again. She lowered her staff and briefly buckled to her knees, struggling with the sensation. One hit... just one hit...

There was a rushed pattering of feet and she looked up to see Angeal rushing towards her again, not as fast as a SOLDIER could go, but enough not to lose his footing on the ice. There was a sharp intake of fear rocketing down her spine, an internal scream of ' _not again!_ '. She didn't have anything truly offensive to fight him with. The Black Magic she had learned from Lulu was basic things, and she didn't have the physical might for her staff to do anything but bounce off him. She only had her White Magic, and the hope that her Aeons *might* prevail...

Her White Magic...

_Holy here, and Holy on Spira, are two vastly different things after all._

Shiva's words echoed in her head. Yuna had never mastered the spell, but what did she have left to lose?

She rose to her feet as he drew close and drew on her magic, holding out an open palm towards him and crying out, "Holy!"

Angeal came to a sudden and startled stop as spheres of white light burst into existence around him, spinning with trails of light before they rushed at him. He managed to dodge one in time, but the others exploded against him. Angeal was sent flying out of the explosion of light, hitting the ground with a thud and a grunt. To her dismay, he rose to his feet, a little singed and a bit scuffed up, but not extremely damaged. He was not however charging her again, eyes warily sizing her up. She returned the look, bracing herself to cast the spell again...

And then she felt Shiva fade, defeated. She sharply turned at the sound of crackling fire, sighting a fireball coming her way. She barely had time to throw up a shell before it slammed into her, sending her skidding and staggering back. She waved the smoke out of the way and saw Angeal and Genesis coming at her from two separate sides.

She didn't have a chance to react.

Angeal slammed a fist into her rib-cage, and she screamed as felt her ribs splinter, ripping into her lungs. She was thrown back until it felt like she hit a brick wall. Hands in red leather shoved her to the ground before a red blade surged past her eyes, spearing through her arm and into the ice, pinning her to the ground with a blood-gurgling scream of pain.

"That, is enough of that," said Genesis dismissively.

There was a great roar of pain before she felt Leviathan's defeat. She weakly raised her head to see Sephiroth landing on the ground, a ways away, soaking wet, ruffled and a little roughed up, but not even out of breath. She hadn't managed to even wind them...

She bent forward and hacked up blood, her eyes blurring.

"Mmm, I think you hit the fair lady to hard," mocked Genesis, "And here I thought you were a gentlemen, Angeal."

"Just cast a low level cure," said Angeal firmly, "Shinra wants her alive after all."

Why... why did...?

She flinched as Genesis did as instructed, her lungs mending a bit, not fully, but enough to not drown in her own blood. He did not withdraw his arm from her sword, instead he kicked her staff away and leered down at her. "Not much of a threat compared to us, were you little Ancient?"

She glared up angrily at him, furious, shamed. Everything still hurt, she could feel the pain of her Aeons, resoundingly beaten. Worse was the pain in her mind. She hadn't made even the slightest difference. She had killed their army, but these three alone could wipe out Wutai if they wanted to. She had failed to even take one of them out...

Failed.

Failed failed failed failed failed...

She drowned in that failure, that pain...

Before she felt something react to that pain, listening to it.

" _Yuna_ ," came a woman's depressed voice, turning into surprise, " _How are you here_?"

It felt... felt like... an Aeon...?

"Bind the Cetra and be done with it," ordered Sephiroth, scowling down at her, "You had best have been worth this."

" _How is unimportant_ ," came the woman's sharp and slightly panicked voice, " _Share your pain with me Summoner. Call to me!_ "

Yuna suckered in a breath as she felt the connection. "Is that...?"

It was Anima... it was Seymour's summon, calling to her, _offering_ aid. She wasn't bound like the others were, to little red materia. Was that what Shiva had meant? That Anima's isolation ironically saved her that fate?

_"SUMMON ME!"_

Dark energy rippled around Yuna, spilling into the surrounding area like a flood. Angeal threw himself back with a cry of surprise, Genesis withdrawing his sword from her arm and doing the same. Yuna surged to her feet and raised her hands and screamed, "Feel my pain! Come, Anima!"

The skies darkened as a massive whirling vortex of fire and purple clouds filled the skies, and down from it dropped a spiked anchor. It slammed into and through the ground in front of her, causing a massive circle of dark energy to appear as it sank further and further down. Then it stopped, and began to pull. Chains rose from the darkness as the anchor pulled up, and with them, came Anima. She was a massive, mummified rotting figure, chained and bound. Her arms and wings chained to her skelital body. Anima tilted her head back and roared, her mouth of sharp teeth and tusks gaping wide.

"GODDESS!" Genesis didn't appear to be able to stop himself from crying out, "What the hell is that?!"

Angeal only managed to get a chocking sound of shock out of his throat.

"I believe," said Sephiroth tersely, "She called it Anima."

Anima's eyes glowed with energy before her head snapped back, and an explosion hit the ground between the three SOLDIERs, sending them flying backwards. Again and again Anima's eyes glowed and energy exploded forward in bursts of energy painful to Yuna's senses. One of them caught Genesis head on and flattened him to the ground with a pained cry, actually damaged by the attack. Angeal suddenly moved, planting himself infront of Genesis as Anima turned her focus on the downed SOLDIER, firing her attack relentlessly. Angeal crossed his arms in front of him and took each blast head on, each one bloodying him, burning him, and starting to shred bits of his clothes.

Unfortunately, the focus left Sephiroth free to move.

The Silver General surged forward and ripped into Anima with his blade again and again. The summon's barrage of blasts faded as it roared with agony. No longer downed, Genesis rose to his feet and began launching spells at the Aeon. Angeal took a moment to heal himself with his materia before rushing forward and joining Sephiroth. Yuna had a moment to admire how much stronger Anima was now than when Seymour had summoned it, to be able to take this kind of punishment. But it wouldn't last long.

Then she felt **_it_**.

She felt the surge of pain from the Aeon, followed by overwhelming energy.

It was time.

And Anima agreed.

"Anima!" screamed Yuna, feeling the power take form in the shape of a word, " _ **OBLIVION**_!"

Dark pools of energy pooled under the three SOLDIERs and Yuna, tugging them all below the surface of the world around them. They were sucked into a world of distorted swirling red and purple and black energy. Directly underneath Anima was a mummified, demonic looking version of the Aeon with long gray hair. It's wrists were bound with a chain, but that was it's only binding. With a roar, the Aeon snapped it's chains, and purple energy surged around it. The Aeon lashed out, explosions ripping from it's fists on impact as they smashed again and again into the SOLDIERs, electing pained cries and yells. Finally, the area blew apart with a massive explosion that Anima shielded Yuna from, but gave no such favors to the SOLDIERs.

Yuna was recalled to the surface, and the SOLDIERs cast out where they landed in bloody heaps a ways away.

Genesis twitched on the ground, groaning and cursing under his breath. Angeal rose to a knee, huffing and puffing, blood running down from a bloody and burned welt to the side of his head. Sephiroth was the one however who took to his feet, eyes narrowing at Anima, raising a hand to wipe blood off his face, glancing down at the red substance with appraisal, a sight he didn't look accustomed to seeing. When he looked up, an aura of blue and orange surrounded him with a high pitched whine as fire lit in his catlike green eyes.

"Cut," he snarled out.

In the blink of an eye he blew forward, his blade glowing and singing with energy as he slashed seven times into Anima, leaving massive glowing wounds.

"Vanish!" he finished, slicing Anima completely in half with the eighth and final blow.

Anima gave a pained wall as she burst into energy and faded away. Yuna stared at the sight in shock, stunned. Shiva... Shiva hadn't lied about Sephiroth's potential power... but she hadn't imagined... to see it like that... there was no way...

He had been injured, bled, and had taken Anima serious in return, defeating her near effortlessly with whatever kind of attack that had been.

Yuna sank to her knees and bowed her head. She had nothing left...

"The silence collar, Genesis, if you would," commanded Sephiroth.

There was a patter of feet on ice as Genesis cautiously approached, knelt down, and tightening something around Yuna's throat. She flinched as she felt herself cut off from her magic, from her Aeons. Then she was roughly hauled to her feet, her arms pinned behind her back.

[Save the Cetra!] came a cry in Wutai.

Yuna looked up sharply as the Wutai started to pour out of the fort, the SOLDIERs tensing in anticipation, before Yuna screamed, "STOP!"

The Wutai froze their rush, staring at her, some slipping on the ice as they tried to obey.

"Just... stop," she said, her voice hoarse, "I won't bear any of you to throw your lives away in a lost battle. They'll slaughter all of you. Just... fall back, retreat. It's..."

She hung her head. "It's over. I'm sorry..."

"I'm so sorry..."

Nothing more was said, the Wutai stared at her in sorrow as Genesis hauled her away, Angeal covering the rear while Sephiroth took the lead, what little Shinra survivors there were piling in behind them...


	5. Decisions of Logic, not Faith, not Emotion

Yuna didn't speak to the SOLDIERs for the duration of their little 'trip' through the woods. Not that the SOLDIERs spoke to her either. There was an air of barely leashed tension and anger. She had butchered their army with her Aeons, and they were furious. She wondered why exactly they wanted her alive, to be honest, if they didn't, Sephiroth probably would have killed her that first encounter now that she thought of it. She understood so little of Gaia's civilizations at the moment, and while she still trusted Wutai far more than Shinra, she had learned that she hadn't been told everything about the war.

She thought Shinra was still butchering villages, not that it had stopped. She had never been told there had been peace attempts. Who knows what else. To be fair, even if the slaughter had stopped, it had still happened, it couldn't be forgotten, nor easily forgiven. It didn't mean the fighting had to continue though, if there were negotiations, then Shinra had to want something from Wutai, and obviously they didn't want to give in. So what was it?

She supposed she'd find out at some point.

She was dragged into a base camp of sorts, fitted into one of the villages Shinra had taken. Captured civilian and warrior Wutai were coordinated off under guard in one corner of the village, while Shinra patrolled it's outskirts. There was still a large force here, despite the loss of their warriors. Yuna didn't comment on it as she was hauled into a hut and put inside. Angeal motioned for her to sit, and she did so, a weary sigh escaping her lips.

"I suppose I'll put in the call to the President," mused Sephiroth, eyes flickering to Genesis and Angeal, "You two have an appointment with a medic."

Genesis scoffed. "I already healed myself, anything I missed the Mako can handle."

Yuna frowned a little. What was Mako?

"And I want a second opinion," countered Sephiroth, "This is the first time either of you have suffered that kind of damage."

Was it? Were they truly so unmatched that they had never, or hardly ever been bled?

"Yes Mother Hen," jabbed Angeal with a playful sound before countering, "So long as you do after."

Sephiroth's lips twitched with amusement before nodding. "Very well."

Sephiroth turned to go before pausing and turning to Yuna, a warning tone entering his voice, "Do not attempt to flee, remove the Silence Collar, or fight. You will not like the consequences."

Yuna merely blinked at him in response. She wasn't stupid.

Sephiroth slowly shook his head before leaving, "One of you set a watch on her."

Genesis made for the door. "Not it!"

Angeal scoffed. "Children, the both of them."

" _There is no hate, only joy, For you are beloved by the goddess_ ," Genesis singsonged back.

Angeal looked bemused, shaking his head and briefly stepped out, calling for someone, before a pair of SOLDIERs walked in and stared down at her, standing at either side of the door. Yuna's eyes briefly flickered back and forth at them, that odd blue glow in their eyes a bit unsettling. She turned her head to look around the hut; it had already been stripped down, and aside from the mat she sat on, was empty but for a few chairs and an empty open crate. With nothing to do but wait, she merely looked down at her hands resting in her lap.

Some time later, Angeal peaked in to check on her before ducking out. She picked up voices outside afterwards.

"Sir, are you, Commander Rhapsodos, and General Sephiroth okay? Never seen you guys hit like that."

"As well as can be, SOLDIER," came Angeal's reply, "Nothing a few cures couldn't fix. We were caught a bit offguard. The Cetra had a surprise for us, that's for sure. Never saw a summon like the last one she threw at us before."

"Intel botched it?"

"Not sure I'd say 'botched', the Cetra are a large unknown. Genesis is rather well read, and he's never heard any tale or lore about an 'Anima' summon," Angeal went silent for a moment before sighing, "At least, they didn't botch it for Anima. On the other hand they dropped the ball on her being able to keep a summon out for an extended period of time. We thought we'd be able to stop her from summoning when the battle started, but not only did she have her summons already ready to go, she had two summons out at once. I've never heard of that being possible from one person."

"Yeah... Leviathan was bad enough, wasted the detachment, but Shiva on top of that freezing us solid...," muttered the SOLDIER, "Just... fucking hell. We've never had a battle that bad before. At least we could retreat the last few she won."

"Sephiroth's not happy either, pissed really," mused Angeal, "Though, I think he's more angry with himself more than anything. He thought he was treating the potential threat its due, and misjudged."

"Fairs fair Sir, none of us were expecting that," spat the SOLDIER, "Fucking Cetra, we oughta waste her ass."

Angeal's voice grew sharp. "She's not to be killed, that's an order from the top. Besides..."

"War is war, we're all killers here," muttered Angeal before clearing his throat, "The Helicopter will be here in the morning. Keep her under tight watch until then."

"Yes sir!"

Time passed in a bored haze as day slowly turned to night. She settled down into a ball on the mat to sleep when the last specks of day faded away...

...and cried cried out as something kicked her stomach and sent her flying into the wall of the hut. She hissed in pain, glancing up to see a SOLDIER approaching, another set watching the doors. "Alright you bitch, the commanders might want you alive, but that doesn't mean were not going to have a bit of payback."

He grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up. She struggled and lashed out, her slaps and scratches doing nothing as he brought her brutally down on his knee, blood gushing out of her mouth at the impact. Her world spun in pain, breath crushed out of her lungs, before she was thrown to the floor and kicked across the hut again. A sob ripped out her lips as she came to a stop against the wall. The SOLDIER came at her again, dragging her by her hair to the center of the hut before kneeling next to her.

"Let's mess up that pretty face of yours."

She screamed as a fist smashed into her face with an audible crack.

"Careful man, you crush her head like a melon and the General will have _our_ heads," said one of the others.

"Whatever," said the SOLDIER, glaring down at Yuna.

And she glared right back up at that nondescript three-eyed helmet through her blurry and teary eyes. Her assailant could at least have the courage to not hide behind a helmet. He lashed out, kicking and hitting, bruising her up and down her body, enjoying every cry of pain ripping from her before he stopped and stared down at her.

"Then again... that pretty little face of yours could be used for something else," said the SOLDIER darkly, grabbing her head and pulling her up and forcing his lips upon hers.

She went still with shock before she squirmed, hitting and slapping as hard as she could despite her aching arms. He gripped a breast roughly, making her cringe in pain and discomfort, before he threw her to the ground, her body cringing at the harsh impact, injuries flaring in protest. She looked up as the man fiddled with his pants, the zipping sound one of the most terrifying things she had ever heard...

No no no no no!

_Thump, thump._

Her eyes briefly looked passed him to see the two other SOLDIERs slump to the ground, and her eyes went wide to see a shadow approach and drive a sword right through the SOLDIER's rib cage. He had a moment of his lower face looking stunned before he started looking dead, collapsing to the side. The shadowy figure, difficult to see with the lack of lighting, knelt down next to Yuna.

[Are you alright Lady Yuna?] came a whisper in Wutai.

Yuna took a full minute to choke back her fear and steady her pounding heart. The Wutai had come for her. She was more than grateful they had stopped what was about to happen ( _rape her mind screamed in horror_ ), but what they came for was foolish, and was going to get more people killed. "You shouldn't have come."

Whoever it was hissed in defiance. [We would never abandon the Cetra. The pride of Wutai, and of the Crescent Unit, would never bear it. Shinra was arrogant, it was easy for us to slip in, for all their enhanced senses, they underestimate the Ninja of Wutai.]

The Crescent Unit. The most elite of Wutai's infantry, samurai, and ninjas. Lord Kisaragi certainly hadn't wasted time. "When they find I'm gone, they'll resume their march, their killing. Better it to end this way."

[Shinra is greed incarnate, they won't stop, wont be satisfied,] shot back the Ninja, [The only way to make them stop is to bleed the beast. You struck a mighty blow, strike it again, and the beast may fear pressing deeper into Wutai.]

The Ninja didn't understand, Shinra wasn't going to make that mistake again. They didn't need to, Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis could take on Yuna and an entire army on their own. But the Ninja wasn't going to be dissuaded. Perhaps someone else could be however... "Alright, take me to Lord Kisaragi."

The Ninja softly sighed with relief before asking, [Can you walk?]

Considering Yuna hadn't moved an inch since the Ninja had appeared as to not further injure her body, "No."

The Ninja turned. [Climb upon my back, it will be my honor to bear you to safety.]

Yuna cringed, a soft sob escaping her lips, her ribs screaming with protest, as she struggled to moved and wrap her arms around the Ninja's neck. There was a protective growl of anger from the Ninja before they moved, swiftly, but gently, out of the occupied town, several other dark shadows falling in behind them...

* * *

There had been many times in his life Sephiroth had been angry.

This however ' _took the cake_ ' as Angeal would say, and had nothing to do with Hojo for once.

Five dead sentries, three dead SOLDIERs, and an escaped VIP prisoner. Perhaps the most important Shinra had ever taken.

This was **_not_ **what he wanted to wake up to in the morning. Especially as he began to inspect the area, Genesis and Angeal at either side of the door, the Turk Tseng at his side, mildly commenting, "There is blood all across the hut. I suspect not all of it is SOLDIER's."

Sephiroth nodded, eyeing the patterns and the origin points. "Considering Wutai's Ninjas are precise, only the blood around the men would be theirs."

"That would imply the vast majority is the Cetra's."

Sephiroth pursed his lips, displeased. "It's not difficult to determine what happened here."

His eyes flickered to the SOLDIER with his pants partially down, fly unzipped. "All things considered."

There was a disgusted and disgruntled noise from Angeal, his voice lathered with anger, with disappointment, "They beat the Cetra and either raped, or tried to rape her. Focused on their revenge, they were taken by surprise from an infiltrating force of Ninja."

"Pray it was attempted and not succeeded," said Tseng softly, "It would make attaining any future cooperation from the Cetra difficult. The Wutai will not respond well either way, but to them, such a ' _defilement_ ' of so holy a figure..."

Oh yes, Sephiroth understood that about Wutai culture. This war was was about to get far more grizzly and savage than it already was. He was expecting the Wutai to be particularly rabid for some time. "Regardless of that, I expected better of my SOLDIERs. We are a highly trained elite fighting force, not some band of degenerate mercenaries. This behavior is unacceptable, as was lowering their guard around such a prisoner."

"To be fair, we should have had a helicopter on-site at all times to pick the Cetra up," offered Tseng as a token counterpoint, "We should have been ready to take her from Wutai the moment we had her. Or at least had Turks ready to watch her. Shinra has taken to many luxuries in face of the lack of true resistance we've had up until now."

Sephiroth didn't comment.

"Do you want to handle the President? Or should I?" asked Tseng, shifting focus.

"It was my men's lack of discipline," said Sephiroth irritably, "Thus, my responsibility."

He turned to the door, eyeing Genesis and Angeal, "Prepare our forces to move out. We will scout our targets ahead of time, if it is determined the Cetra isn't there, we will attack in bulk, if she is, we will handle it alone."

With that, he strode out of the hut...

* * *

Yuna came to in a dimly lit room, aromatic candles surrounding the bed she was in. A pair of female Wutai worked around her, carefully tending to her wounds with bandages and ointments. They briefly noted she was awake, calling out to someone. Yuna blinked a few times, pushing away the tiredness as Lord Kisaragi came into the room and preformed a deep, respectful bow.

"It is good to see you alive, Lady Yuna," said the man solemnly, "Deep was the fear I felt when I heard you had been captured."

She smiled a little. "Not that it lasted long."

The man returned the smile, albeit it was a bit tight to his face and forced, "Woe be it that it happened to begin with."

Godo's face darkened immensely. "And how dare Shinra, how _dare_ they. My Ninja reported what state they found you in, what the Shinra dogs were about to do. They will **_bleed_ **for this insult! This travesty! They will pay tenfold in blood!"

She felt panic surge through her. "Don't! Don't take any action!"

Lord Kisaragi was momentarily stunned, flabbergasted. "Lady Yuna... they attempted to..."

"I know," she said harshly, a tremor in her voice, "Believe me, I know. But..."

She looked away. "We can't win Lord Kisaragi, if we spur them on, they'll slaughter Wutai."

"Lady Yuna," said Lord Kisaragi, voice placating, "Even as we speak, I have sent my spies and Ninja out into the world to locate and return any Summon Materia they find, with a bit of time and faith..."

"It's not about faith," said Yuna sharply, not quite sure she could keep how broken she felt on that subject out of her voice, "We _can't_ win. I could have access to all my old Aeons, but it wouldn't matter. I... I can't defeat them..."

"You are caring beyond measure, to have taken on the demons of Shinra alone to protect us, but this is our battle, Lady Yuna, you should have had our warriors at your back," he argued, "With protection and a shield of the Wutai's faith to defend you..."

"Lord Kisaragi," she said softly, "You've fought this war longer than I've been here. You are not stupid, nor ignorant. You know what SOLDIER is capable of."

Godo grew uncomfortably silent.

"We can't win," she said, briefly wincing as one of her tenders sat her up to wrap a bandage around her stomach.

"So you wish us to surrender?" he asked in disbelief.

"I want you to negotiate, not surrender," she said, "Don't throw any more lives away. Survive, recover, and wait for the time to strike if it is to come. You need time to develop, and find a way to match SOLDIER, if its even possible. You can't do that if Wutai is a nation of _corpses_."

Lord Kisaragi looked away, struggling with many things, pride perhaps, frustration, who knew what else. She wasn't the leader of a nation, she couldn't imagine what it was like to bear that kind of pressure.

"They will destroy our lands," he spat, "They want to defile us with an abominable reactor that bleeds the planet dry. What good is it to wait if our world dies under us?"

Yuna was a bit lost on what a 'reactor' was, but... "There's something else they want, perhaps more than this 'reactor'."

He turned to her and frowned. "What?"

Yuna herself.

But she didn't outright admit it, if she did now, she was afraid he would refuse and send Wutai to it's destruction in an effort to protect her. She simply laid back when her tenders bid her do so. "Send out someone to sue for a ceasefire, and to call for negotiations. I will participate in them."

Lord Kisaragi narrowed his eyes at her, scrutinizing. "You have some sort of... plan?"

"In a manner of speaking," she said.

Lord Kisaragi sighed. "Very well, we will listen to your wisdom. We will bide our time until it the right moment, assuming the greed of Shinra can even be momentarily appeased. I will have a seamstress come in to take measurements and weave a suiting garment for you."

Yuna paused briefly in thought before speaking, "Alright, but, I want whatever is made to allow the bandages to be shown."

He was taken back. "You would show weakness in negotiations?"

"I've never participated in a war before," she said slowly, "But even I know that prisoners are not supposed to be mistreated like this. I want to show what was done, and how displeased I and Wutai are."

"Shinra knows not of shame," spat Lord Kisaragi.

"Perhaps, but this is more for me than them," she admitted, "And we might get some leverage out of it."

Godo considered it before looking her over with a frown, "Considering the depths of your injuries, your clothes will not be moderate nor modest."

Yuna briefly glanced down at the bandages covering her, blushing a little. "You're right, I wasn't thinking, cover enough to be respectable."

He nodded in agreement before growing uncomfortable, "I wished to have you tended to with potions, but was advised to let you naturally heal."

Yuna waved it off, wincing briefly from the movement. "I've had enough magic based healing to last me awhile. I really don't want to feel my body forcing itself to mend again so soon. A little rest would be... nice."

He bowed humbly. "Forgive us for placing you through such hardship..."

She sighed softly. "My life has always been about sacrifice Lord Kisaragi, this is no different."

She could tell he was curious about her past, but she closed her eyes and said, "I'm sorry... but I'm tired."

Lord Kisaragi took the hint. "I will leave you to your rest then, Lady Yuna, I will come or send news when Shinra accepts or denies our request for negotiations."

Yuna nestled into the pillow, tuning out her tenders as she began to drift towards sleep...


	6. Unexpected Negotiation Results

Sephiroth liked to think he had a firm understanding of the Wutai. What, with the entire month he spent studying their culture and ways before the war even began. Fighting against them for so long. Perusing their villages from afar with his enhanced vision to scout them. Going through several ceasefires and negotiations. He had come to understand what actions would have what consequences, and could predict things well in advance.

So when they were greeted by a messenger under the parley flag and asked for a ceasefire to begin negotiations once more, after the whole mess with the Cetra's capture and escape, he was rather taken offguard by it. He expected a storm of righteous rage from the Wutai for the treatment of Lady Yuna, an escalation in the war that would leave a bloody stain across the landscape. If it weren't for the fact that Wutai were an honorable people, and had never and would never take the white flag in vain to lay some kind of trap, he would have been very suspicious for one.

"Somehow, I feel the Cetra is involved in this," mused Sephiroth quietly to himself as he rode in a helicopter to one of Shinra's warships, to meet with and guard the President on this latest venture into the Wutai capital for negotiations.

It was the only logical conclusion. The only way this oddity made sense, despite that he would have thought the Cetra would absolutely refuse such a thing after her rape or near rape. Then again, despite what he had observed thus far from her, she was an unknown variable that he could not accurately predict. She had already caught him by surprise a number of times already, so he supposed he should be used to it. Though, he did wish the last surprise she had given him, and his comrades, had been forewarned somehow. Pain and fear were sensations he hadn't experienced in a long time, since he was but a boy in Hojo's labs.

Anima had briefly reminded him that he was quite mortal.

The sight of that monstrosity, especially it's underground form, had sent that chilling sensation down his spine, through his chest. Getting hit by a multitude of hybrid explosive/physical attacks while the summon had somehow magically bound and dragged him underground had been grueling, unable to dodge and defend himself, had bloodied him. It hadn't been nearly enough to defeat him, not even close.

But to actually damage _him_...

He controlled his urge to smile.

He wished the battle had been able to go on longer. Pain and fear he did not loath, in fact, he hungered for it, for a challenge that could actually press him, test him, force him to take it seriously. Unfortunately, Anima had fallen to a limit break with laughable ease. Moderately disappointing aside from the fact he had even been brought to one to begin with. Assuming these negotiations went as all previous ones did, with nothing to show for them, he'd get the chance for that brief challenge again he supposed...

"Most likely," came Tseng's voice in reply, "I largely believe these negotiations are at her insistence. There is no possibility of Lord Kisaragi not taking offense otherwise."

Sephiroth's gaze flickered up. "Have you a thought as to why?"

Tseng leaned his head back. "The Cetra, from what I noted when I briefly met her, had no love for war, is unused to its... depths, its dangers and cost."

Sephiroth frowned slightly. "You think she was frightened into this?"

"It is a possibility."

Sephiroth shook his head. "I disagree. A woman who could meet the top three SOLDIERs in combat without fear would not be cowed by what happened, or possibly happened, in that hut. If anything, I would think it would have had the opposite results."

"Perhaps," said Tseng, "Or perhaps you aren't thinking of the other end of the spectrum. It was not fear I was alluding to. I watched and studied her before I approached her. She has a distinct awareness of the cost of life around her. That 'dance of the dead' she does when she invokes the planet to claim the fallen. Her constant focus on mass revival spells and healing, confronting the three of you to not waste Wutain lives..."

Sephiroth understood. "You believe she's doing this to divert further loss of life?"

"You did say she gave you a chance to withdraw your forces before she attacked," pointed out Tseng, "She is capable of great destruction, but prefers to mend life instead from what I can tell."

Sephiroth acknowledged that with a frown. "Hmm..."

He shook his head. "I still doubt these negotiations will go anywhere. She has yet to go through the tediousness of these meetings, between a president who will not yield his demands and a leader who will not bend to them. Unless Shinra attains a reactor in Wutai, these negotiations will go nowhere."

Tseng nodded at that. "I suppose we'll see then."

It would be a waste of time, but perhaps he could glean more of the Ancient's personality from this, attain an understanding that might prove useful in predicting her in upcoming battles. He doubted she would confront the three of them like that again after all. He was looking forward to see what she did next, so long as she wasn't given the chance to devastate Shinra's forces again that is...

* * *

Somehow, Sephiroth supposed he shouldn't have been surprised by the sight he was greeted with.

At the steps of the pagoda in the capital village of Wutai, Lady Yuna stood at the front, next to her was Lord Kisaragi, signaling that Lady Yuna was the chief negotiator for these proceedings, and that Godo would advise her. She was dressed differently for once, in a black silken top and bottom that would have left her stomach and arms and legs bare. If not for the bandages covering them of course, the skin between them bruised an ugly purple or black and blue. The lack of them showing the bruising on her face, her eyes narrowed at him _daring_ a comment.

It would seem both he and Tseng had guessed wrong: These negotiations were a _message_.

Lady Yuna was displeased.

Though, if she expected Shinra to react to it, she would be sorely mistaken. The Company default policy was to cover-up their actions and would prevent her from even gaining so much as an apology or an acknowledgement as to her treatment and what was done or nearly done to her.

He kept his face carefully schooled as President Shinra, Director Veld Verdot of the Turks, Tseng, and a number of other Turks as bodyguards approached the steps. A number of SOLDIER, and infantry lined the pathway behind them, an agreed amount to be allowed. The oddity of the group was a mild thing to note, as Shinra rarely sent multiple high ranking personnel to these proceedings. The President had only gone to the first negotiation attempt, and then hadn't bothered from then on in. Veld had never come to these before. He suspected it had to do with the Cetra. The Turk would want to come to his own conclusions about her, and the President was to greedy not to take the chance to lay his eyes on Shinra's next 'prize'. The fact that the Cetra had bloodied his top SOLDIERs and lay waste to an army had only made her more tantalizing for the fat buffoon.

The Wutai's delegations bowed, and Shinra bowed back.

"My name is Yuna, and I will be leading the negotiations. Your men will be led to a guest barracks," began the Cetra, addressing Shinra without wasting any words on pleasantries, "While you and your escort will follow us to begin."

Straight to the point. Something he could respect. Yet, it was not a trait that would be born out of a military lifestyle considering what they knew of her. Perhaps she held a dislike of politics and the theatrics of it? If so, was that natural for her, or something to have developed from her experiences? Not something he would normally care about, but anything related to the Cetra would be important.

They were led inside to a familiar meeting room. Large table, cushions to sit or kneel on instead of chairs, lit by candlelight with various paintings and greenery around the room. Very curious to Sephiroth was that aside from Lord Kisaragi, Yuna had no other advisors present; the only other Wutai in the room being the Crescent Unit serving as bodyguards. The lack of advisors was unexpected, and a large deviation. Not that someone else aside from Godo leading the delegation wasn't a deviation anyway.

Yuna sat first, Lord Kisaragi at her left. Shinra took the head at the other end of the table, Sephiroth at his left, Veld at his right, his Turks lining Shinra's side of the room. Sephiroth noted, before he sat, how carefully the various Turks watched the Cetra. Veld would be looking for opinions from his subordinates if Sephiroth had to guess.

President Shinra was the first to speak, "The Cetra of Wutai, if I may ask why you are leading these proceedings...?"

Yuna stared at him for a moment, as if considering whether she actually needed to answer that or not, before she spoke, "I have already told your General, I am not bound to Wutai, I am here as a vested third party chosen to be allied with them, and as of this moment, to impartially negotiate peace between both Shinra and Wutai."

Sephiroth's eyes took in Godo, watching for a response. There was no reaction. Shinra on the other hand sharped his gaze. There were many things to be taken from that statement, a lack of fealty to Wutai being the main one that Shinra would latch onto. It was the note of impartiality that drew Sephiroth's interest. Was it meant to be taken that her and Wutai's aims were two separate things? Or just a political phrase to imply but not mean it? He would always take it for the latter with any of Shinra's board of directors, but here? It remained to be seen.

"Hmm," mused the President, "I trust you know what Shinra wants? We have met with Wutai many times on this before now. I don't particularly enjoy my time being _wasted_ if this is going to end the same as the last several attempts."

"Assume that I do not," said Yuna, not reacting, or perhaps not caring, about his tone, "What I know, is that Wutai wishes Shinra removed from their lands. What is it that Shinra desires to make that happen?"

"We want the right to search Wutai's land for a suitable place to set up a Mako Reactor," answered Shinra.

"And what, is a 'Mako Reactor'?" asked Yuna.

Sephiroth's eyes furrowed, studying her. The question was in earnest... how could she not know...?

Shinra had a brief moment of disbelief before answering, "A Mako Reactor is a type of power plant that extracts energy from the planet and turns it into Mako energy."

"And what do you do with this 'Mako Energy'?" she asked.

Shinra scrutinized the Cetra for a moment before slowly answering, "We use it for everything. To power our everyday electronics such as computers, it powers all of our buildings, it is used as fuel for boats or planes, to create materia or power our machinery..."

"Machina?" came Yuna's voice, sharp and just a tad surprised.

There was _something_ in her tone that Sephiroth wasn't quite sure he understood. Both harsh and instinctual, as if she disliked machines, and yet uncertain as if she questioned that dislike at the same time. As if she couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not. It was one of the more stronger reactions he had seen from her since their first encounter, and he found himself rather curious about it.

Shinra merely huffed. "Yes, _machines_. I know the Wutai prefer to live... _old fashioned_... the rest of us however have developed with the times. Surely you knew that?"

The President was probing, and frankly Sephiroth was rather interested in Yuna's response as well.

"I know next to nothing about how Shinra or the people who live in your lands lead their lives," was Yuna's rather blunt answer.

That got a raised eyebrow from the President. "I see."

Sephiroth would not speak the question aloud, but he sincerely wondered what rock she had been living under to not know this. Shinra controlled almost the entire planet after all. Still... she spoke honestly, there was no sign of lying. So, he noted honesty as part of her personality, she was not afraid to admit to a lack of knowledge, even if it could, and most likely would, be used to other's advantage. That she had little to no understanding of machinery and technology... there were so many ways that could be used against her. The Turks would have a field day with her, dancing circles she would never see.

"So, to summarize and make sure I understand this," began Yuna, "'Mako' energy enables your way of life. You and your people cannot live without it."

"Not without a collapse of our society," said the President, a tad of smug in his voice, "Mako Energy was Shinra's gift to the world."

More like the way Shinra controls the world and made it dependent on the Company.

Yuna frowned a little, thinking. "I can see why you need it I suppose. Just how much more of it do you need?"

"They need nothing more Lady Yuna," spat Lord Kisaragi, "They already have many reactors scattered through their lands. Their capital has eight reactors in it alone!"

Yuna's head turned from him to Shinra, waiting an answer.

"Mako energy isn't infinite," said Shinra with a huff, "We will need more eventually, and it can't hurt to bring Wutai up to the same standards as the rest of the world."

Yuna's eyes narrowed. "How the Wutai live their lives is for them, and them alone, to determine, _not you_..."

A dislike for people imposing their way of life on others. Another note for her profile.

"...beyond that, eventually is not _now_. Certainly there must be other areas that you could build these 'reactors' at," finished Yuna, her glare at Shinra a hard thing.

Coupled with the bruising all over her face, her harsh words gave her a rather hardened appearance; the wounded Cetra defiantly staring down the dictator without giving an inch. Genesis would have loved to have personally been here to watch it. Sephiroth could mildly admit he was impressed with her putting Shinra in his place, because she frankly wasn't wrong. Of course, he wasn't paid nor employed to give such opinions.

Shinra however didn't seem phased. "We've been in war for years now, Shinra is not going to back down with nothing to show for it."

"Pride?" Yuna scoffed.

"No more than Wutai's," countered Shinra, "They could easily have just allowed it to begin with, and the war wouldn't have happened."

"And allowed your abominable reactors which destroy nature around them?" said Lord Kisaragi with scorn, "Our lands thrive because we treat them well, not bleed them dry as you do. What is the point of bowing to maintain our sovereignty if the land we live on is dead? Not to simply mention giving Shinra complete economic control over us by adopting their energy and way of life."

He turned to Yuna. "Make no mistake Lady Yuna, building their reactor is an act of war itself, economic war, that would have let them dominate us without firing a bullet."

Let it not be said that Lord Kisaragi was not intelligent.

Yuna nodded slowly, turning to Shinra. "I suppose then, the crux of the matter is that you want a reactor, and the Wutai do not. So I ask..."

There was something in the way she shifted her position that drew Sephiroth's focus, they way she subtley tensed, her eyes focusing, her mouth firm set. "...is there _nothing else_ that Shinra would desire in place of a reactor?"

Shinra scoffed. "What would Wutai have to offer that could compare to a Mako Reactor?"

"That is for you to decide," said Yuna, "There is much Wutai, or _I_ _myself_ , would give to end the war."

'or I myself'? Something about the way she said that...

"Take a recess to these negotiations and think on it," offered Yuna.

Shinra nodded slowly, and studied her carefully, an interested gleam in his eyes. "Very well. I will _consider_ my possibilities."

As they were led to the guest wing of the pagoda, Sephiroth's mind was abuzz trying to identify what the Cetra's goals were. Because he had been wrong, this wasn't just a message, or a naive attempt at negotiations, Lady Yuna was trying in earnest to end the war. Her words echoed in his mind again, ' _I myself_ ', and he began to replay his few encounters with the Cetra, trying to see if he could figure it out.

It took him until he was led into his own room and sat down on his bed to understand, and he was left momentarily flabbergasted. His first instinct was to throw out the idea, it was ludicrous, but...

He recalled, in the last battle, that look of surprise from her when he had ordered Angeal to capture her. She hadn't been expecting that, to be taken alive. He had figured, in their words before that battle began, that she had come out there to fight to the death for Wutai. That she would have been more than willing to give her life if it would bring Wutai victory. He had taken that as the typical Wutai fervor, to give their lives for their land. But it wasn't that, Yuna did not belong to Wutai, fealty to the land and the lord had nothing to do with it.

It was self-sacrifice.

He put that piece into the puzzle of the Cetra, and so much more of how she acted or what she did made sense. She was going to offer herself in place of a Mako Reactor in Wutai, she had been angling towards that the entire time. She knew they wanted her, that a Cetra was important enough for the three top SOLDIERs to go and capture, and was using that to weigh the importance of herself against the reactor. He considered the possibilities of it, of Shinra asking that, and found that she might actually succeed if that was truly her aim.

Then, he thought of Hojo and his labs, and found himself pitying her.

Because she had no idea what that sacrifice would cost her.

* * *

The next morning, Sephiroth found himself in the same position at the negotiation tables as before, this time though, he noted an eagerness in the President.

"There is one thing we may consider in place of a Mako Reactor," began Shinra after everyone was seated.

"Which is?" questioned Yuna.

"The services of the Cetra," said Shinra.

Lord Kisaragi looked positively furious, and if not for Yuna's quick hand on his shoulder, Sephiroth imagined the Wutain would have exploded. He took note of Yuna's face, she wasn't surprised in the slightest, so Sephiroth had been correct in his assumptions, this truly was her goal...

"If you agree to come and work for the Company," said Shinra, "To offer your services, allow us to study you, and answer our questions truthfully about you and your people, we will withdraw from Wutai."

"I cannot believe this outrage!" said Godo, beginning to rise to his feet.

"Very well," Yuna said without hesitation, "So long as the withdrawal is complete, and a treaty or some other binding contract in place to make sure Shinra stays out of Wutai, then I accept."

Lord Kisaragi was stunned. "Lady Yuna... you cannot think to... Shinra will destroy you!"

Yuna gave him a sad, self-depreciating smile. "A small price to pay for an entire nation."

Self-sacrificing indeed, and so very foolish, ignorant.

"Well then," said Shinra, looking rather pleased, "I wish all my business negotiations went as quick and smoothly as this did, my job would certainly be less stressful."

Sephiroth resisted the urge to scoff. He had stood guard at the President's suite enough times to know there was nothing stressing in the way the fat man lived in unfathomable luxury.

Lord Kisaragi was having a silent stare down with Lady Yuna, and the latter was not budging an inch. Finally, the man crumpled, sagging into the cushion he sat on, looking more than twice his age. "It will be as the Cetra wills it."

"I do have one request first," began Yuna, looking at President.

"Which is?" inquired Shinra.

"The dead from the last battle, are they still where they fell?" she asked, turning to Sephiroth.

He stiffened a little bit. "We have had little chance to retrieve and bury them."

"Then I ask to preform a Sending there first," she said, "The dead deserve their peace."

Shinra waved it off. "Do as you will, I need time to consider how this will be publicly handled."

Yuna shrugged her shoulders. "That's your problem."

"You will be involved with it without a doubt," pointed out Shinra.

Yuna merely held his gaze, not particularly caring.

"I can have a helicopter loaned out for you to use," said Shinra, "As I doubt it will take me the time it would cost you to get there on foot."

She gave him a puzzled look. "What is a helicopter?"

"Air transportation," he answered, looking amused, "My dear, you have much to learn about the wonders of technology."

Sephiroth turned his intellect on the President, weighing his words. It almost sounded like he was offering that as an attempt to sway her to their cause. If Yuna played her cards right, and kept herself in the President's good graces, she might not simply be thrown to Hojo. Not that she would know or understand the dangers of that.

Yuna merely hummed in response, rising to her feet. "Very well. Let us be on our way. Lord Kisaragi, I trust you can let your advisors and people know of my decision?"

There was an air of grief around the man. "As you will, Lady Yuna."

"I do request however," said Shinra, eyes narrowing, "That General Sephiroth goes with you to... keep an eye on things."

Yuna stiffened, looking outright _insulted_. "I am a woman of my word, President Shinra."

"I still insist."

Yuna scowled. "Fine," and turned to Sephiroth, "If you would lead the way, General?"

Sephiroth kept his face schooled as he walked from the room, Tseng following to serve as a pilot, leading her out of the pagoda, down the streets of Wutai, and to one of the waiting helicopters; Tseng took to the front, and Sephiroth climbed into the passenger compartment. He turned when he noted she hadn't entered, watching her stare at the helicopter with a bit of trepidation. Her eyes roamed it, a look of bafflement on her face. "How... does this machina fly?"

"The helicopter blades," he answered simply, pointing upward, "When the blades rotate, it creates a lift that propels it through the air, altering the angle of the blades allows you to change directions. The mechanics of it is a bit more complex, but that is the simple explanation."

She nodded slowly and took a hesitant step closer, still uncertain. He wondered briefly if she was a technophobe. Technophobia would make her interactions with Shinra... _complex_... to say the least, when they returned to Midgar. He offered out a hand, and she hesitatingly took it. He pulled her into the helicopter before he moved to sit and buckle himself in. She watched him before doing the same, sitting down and staring at the buckle for a moment, finger running down the strap and metal part, eyes wandering to the part to plug it into.

"This keeps us from falling out, keeps us steady when moving," she sounded it, not a question, more like speaking herself through a problem or a concept.

"Yes," he answered.

She buckled in with a click, and tested it out, pulling on it, leaning forward, and seeing how much she could stand with the buckle in. Finally, she settled back in and waited. Tseng was watching from the front, studying her actions. Sephiroth closed the helicopter doors, gave Tseng a nod, and the helicopter took to the air a minute later. Yuna briefly yelped in surprise, hands gripping the seat tightly. She leaned towards a window, looking out on the landscape below, a little queasy, before she stopped and turned to stare at the empty space across from her.

Sephiroth might have been content for silence under normal circumstances, but...

He respected the Cetra, for what she had done up to this point, and was willing to do; he kept his voice low enough for Tseng not to hear over the helicopter. "You have little idea of what you are getting yourself into, Lady Yuna."

She turned her head and stared at him silently.

"The Cetra are a subject of much interest within Shinra, and I imagine, within the Science Department," said Sephiroth with mild distaste, "If you are not careful with how you tread, you may find this out the hard way."

She didn't particularly seem phased. "I see."

"No, I don't think you do," he said firmly, "Your life will be forfeit in ways you cannot fathom if you so much as step out of line from what Shinra wants."

"As it was with Yevon," she rebutted simply.

He did not know who or what Yevon was, but he severely doubted it compared to Hojo. Yet... it sounded as if she was used to this somehow. Was this truly how her life had been? "Do you truly value your own life and freedom so little?"

Why would she give up her freedom so willingly? A freedom _he_ had never had.

Yuna stared at him silently for the duration of the trip, her eyes unmoving, unblinking for an unnaturally long time, and only spoke when the helicopter touched down; Sephiroth immediately picked up on the _pain_ in her voice, "I am a Summoner, like my father before me. The entire purpose of a Summoner is to _die_ for others, that to fulfill my purpose would cost me my life, so that they may live in peace, in a Calm."

He stared at her in disbelief. A SOLDIER knew they could die, but it wasn't their purpose **_TO_ **die. What kind of society created such a barbaric function?

She slowly shook her head and turned away, unbuckling, pure bitterness filing her voice, "Even though I discovered that entire purpose was built on a lie, that a thousand years of summoners died for nothing, it's been my entire life since my father left me, General, I know nothing else."

Sephiroth watched her open the door and leave, but did not immediately go to follow. He weighed her words in his head, the tones she took, her body language, the potential history behind what she had said. There was so much more to this woman than met the eye. But more than that...

_"It's been my entire life since my father left me, General, I know nothing else."_

The words resonated with him in a way that wasn't comfortable in the slightest. Hojo's labs, SOLDIER, Shinra, had been his entire life since Gast had left, had _abandoned_ _him_ , he knew nothing else either. While Gast hadn't been his father, the man had been the closest thing to a father figure Sephiroth ever had, who had actually treated him as more than an object, a specimen, a puppet general. While Sephiroth hadn't been created to die, he found that he and Yuna shared a similarity in a key way, and it left him disquieted.

He unbuckled and left the helicopter, watching from the dry spot they had landed on as Yuna stepped upon the empty battlefield, the nearby fort abandoned to the stench and decay of the rotting swampland Yuna had left it in the wake of Leviathan. Stepping in that muck, filled with submerged dead, was a sure-fire way to risk disease...

Except that she wasn't stepping in water.

She was stepping on it. Walking on it.

He watched her scour the battlefield with her eyes, landing on her staff sticking out of the water, where it had fallen in the battle. She walked over to it and took it into her hands. She took a deep breath, and began to dance with a single fluid motion. In that motion, his eyes briefly met hers, and he saw a world of pain and grief in them. He watched her spin, crouching down low and coming up high, her staff flowing through the air. She thrust it forward and bowed before pulling it back, thrusting it forward again, and bowing low. She rose up to her feet and spun her staff into the air overhead...

His eyes went slightly wide to see unlit torches on the walls and gates of the fort ignited into blue fire as the water propelled her into the air, rising under her feet. Green energy began to spill out of the various corpses on the battlefield, circling around her. Still she danced, ontop of the rising water, staff winging through the air appearing to guide the green energy around it.

Sephiroth recalled this 'dance' being described as one of the most beautiful yet terrifying things one of his SOLDIERs had ever seen. He found himself agreeing with that statement. Sephiroth was not one for faith, but there was something distinctly spiritual about this, something _more_. His senses were _tingling_ as bodies burst into green energy and faded away, guided by the Cetra. Lady Yuna kept her face controlled, but there was sadness, pain, and grief in her every move. There was history in these well practiced motions, she had to have done this many times before, and despite how her body must ache to preform this 'Sending' with her wounds, she had not hesitated to do it. A notion of duty he more than understood, that he appreciated and valued himself.

He found himself entranced, watching the every twirl of her staff, the motions of her arms and legs, the rippling of her hair through the air... he did not know what he felt at that moment. This was a sight he could watch again and again, spellbound to it, to her, and yet... he also never wanted to see it again. It _deeply_ unsettled him. If there were any lingering doubts that she wasn't more than human, that she wasn't a Cetra, they were gone.

Finally, the green energy settled back into the water, into the soil beneath it, and the blue firelight faded. All the dead were gone. 'Claimed by the Planet' as Genesis would say. The water lowered and set Yuna down, and she slowly made her way back, tiny ripples echoing through the water at each step. When she stood before him, he had a difficult time for once trying to figure out what to say. So, he went for the logical thing, if he understood what the purpose of a 'Sending' was, he took it as a religious ritual to give peace to the fallen.

He offered two quiet words, "Thank you," after all, she was giving peace to his men as well, and he could respect that greatly.

She gave him a sad, tired smile, and walked past him without a word, climbing into the helicopter. The ride back was in complete silence save for the helicopter blades. She looked tired, exhausted, and he was to lost in his own thoughts to try to spark a conversation. They returned to the capital of Wutai, and left the helicopter, making for the pagoda once more. They were directed towards the meeting room, apparently Shinra and Lord Kisaragi were convening again, over what, Sephiroth did not know.

The loud voices emanating from within however let him know it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"...is outrageous! How **_DARE_ **you expect that of the Cetra!" thundered Lord Kisaragi, "How _**DARE** _you expect we will go along with it!"

Yuna sighed softly and took the lead, brushing past Sephiroth and stepping into the room. "Expect what of me, exactly?"

Shinra looked positivly pleased with himself. "I've been thinking of how the public would react to the sudden end of the war, and come up with a way that would spin it in all of our favors."

"Which is?"

"To those gathered, we would know it to be a Marrage of State," said the Preisdent smugly, then going for disdain, "To the public? They eat it up as a good love story."

Sephiroth did his best to not make a face. A political marrage? That was how he was going to explain the end of the war? Marry the Cetra off and cart it as a tale of love that brought two nations to peace? It made sense, had happened before in history, and the public _would_ respond to it. He still found it rather disgusting and degrading, both to the Cetra and whoever she would be wed with. Not that whichever political bootlicker wouldn't get prestige for it. He briefly wondered who it would be...

"I can see the headlines now," said the President, "Cetra and the Silver General, first meeting as enemies..."

Wait, _**WHAT**_?

No.

No, he was not getting dragged into any more of the political games Shinra played, he had to suffer enough PR stunts as it was, he would _not_ be used this way. "President Shinra, with due respect, I must protest this."

"I've already come to a decision Sephiroth," stated the President, voice going firm, "If I have to make it an order, I will. She is to powerful to leave unsupervised by anyone except one of our top Firsts; this serves as a cover to keep her under your watch."

Sephiroth's fists clenched tightly as he weighed his options. The Presidents reasoning did have merit, but he still did not want this. Let Angeal ( _who would never force the Cetra to do anything against her will in the marrage_ ) or Genesis ( _who would enjoy the theatrics of it_ ) play this game. He considered calling in every favor he had, how much the company _owed_ him for his efforts, for the hell they had put him through with Hojo that he had never called them out on...

And then Lady Yuna laughed, there was an almost hysterical note to it. "This _again_?"

They all turned, and Sephiroth was momentarily caught offguard. "You've been politically wed before?"

"As a matter of fact," she said, a hint of chagrin to it, "Yes. Not that it lasted. Among other things, my would-be 'husband' ran me through with a spear and threw me off the side of a mountain."

Sephiroth raised both incredulous eyebrows at that. Just what kind of life had the Cetra lived before now?

Yuna slowly shook her head and turned for the door. "I'm tired and going to rest, so do as you wish. I've done this charade before, set up your sham wedding and give me my lines to speak."

She briefly turned to look at Sephiroth, a mixture of amused resignation in her eyes, and a touch of despair that left him unsettled. "Hopefully this one wont end up trying to kill me as well."

With that, she left, and he stared at the door as it closed. Did she truly, _truly_ , value herself so little that she would debase herself to _this_? Apparently for the second time?

"Well then," mused the President, "It would appear I have a wedding to plan."

"I haven't agreed to this," said Sephiroth thinly.

"Then we will discuss it in private," said the President, "But in the end, you _will_ bend on this."

'Over his dead body' was the thought that ran through his head as the two of them left the flabbergasted and disgruntled Lord of Wutai behind them and made for the guest wing of the pagoda...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth is not going to be happy, and Genesis is going to have so much fun at his expense. Also, Genesis called Ifrit on Zack in Crisis Core, right? Wedding gift for Yuna! :evilsmile;


	7. To Midgar

Sephiroth had never kissed someone before. Genesis would probably tease him endlessly if he ever admitted it, but the fact still stood. He never expected it to be truly warm, loving, not that he really knew those, and especially not in such a circumstance. Even so... he wasn't sure a kiss was supposed to be so cold, shouldn't leave a taste of death on his lips. He and Yuna separated, that despair in her eyes made him want to look away. She was beautiful, having been healed of her wounds for the event, dressed in an elegant flower patterned Wutain gown for the quick sham wedding where President Shinra was the only person smiling.

Sephiroth wanted to be anywhere but here, in this uncomfortably tight tuxedo, being wed under orders, to a woman who was sacrificing herself to end a war; A woman who fully knew she was dooming herself, but doing it anyway.

There was no cheering from the Wutai, nor the Shinra personnel present, a few clicks of cameras for whatever news release the President planned, otherwise just grim silence. They returned briefly to the pagoda to change into their normal attire, and met outside the steps as Shinra's forces were packing up and preparing to leave Wutai. Sephiroth watched Yuna take a long, slow look at the Capital in silence, appearing to press it into memory. She didn't appear to think she'd return.

Sephiroth found himself silently agreeing.

He gave her a month, two tops, before she butted heads enough with the President for the man to send her to Hojo. His eyes flickered to the camera equipment being taken down. Though... with public awareness, that might complicate things. Then again, they could simply fake an accident and death to explain her disappearance. He wasn't expecting this to last, which was one of the reasons he had finally caved in. On the other end of the spectrum, he respected the Cetra; a specimen in Hojo's labs was no fate he'd wish on her.

"I suppose we will be on our way then," Sephiroth said quietly.

Yuna sighed softly. "I suppose we will."

"Do you have any belongings you wish to take with you?"

"Just the clothes on my back and the staff in my hand."

He nodded slowly. She lived even sparser than SOLDIERs did, less than even he did, and his room was spartan. Another little similarity he filed away. He walked down the steps, and she followed, joining up with the rest of the group. The President and his Turk escort filed into his helicopter that would fly ahead, while the rest of them would take a ship back to Junon and disperse from there. Sephiroth matched his pace to Yuna's, walking side-by-side, allowing a small courtesy of not being led to her fate. Whether she'd recognize the gesture or not, he didn't know. He supposed it didn't really matter. He'd allow her peace, quiet, and respect while she stayed with him until she ended up in the labs, it was the least he could do...

And judging by some of the hostile looks some of his SOLDIERs, and the infantry, gave her, he might have to run interference as well. Not that such a thing was hard for him, his presence alone generally intimidated others away.

As much as he was still angry over the loss of so many SOLDIERs, he wasn't hypocritical. It had been war, he had killed far more Wutains on his own not counting any other of Shinra's forces, than she had killed SOLDIER. It was no reason to withhold respect or treat her like dirt. Angeal, in combination with etiquette lessons that Shinra had forced on him, had taught him how to be a polite after all. He also knew that if Yuna ever died, or was publicly mistreated, Wutai would go into an uproar, and Sephiroth was tired of this pointless waste of a war.

He wanted to go home and be done with it for good.

The moment they boarded the boat, Sephiroth noticed a... disquiet from Yuna, she seemed... distant, not quite there. She moved to the front and stood there, eyes out to sea. He moved to stand next to her, studying her briefly, her eyes unfocused, yet tense. As if...

"Do you have sea sickness?" he asked.

She blinked back into focus. "No. Just... remembering my first boat ride of my Pilgrimage."

"An unpleasant experience?"

She slowly shook her head. "I thought I was going to die just after communing with my first aeon. I was at peace with the possibility, just... disappointed that it would all end so soon before I could make a difference."

He gave a non-committal hum, weighing whether or not he should ask, he supposed it wouldn't hurt, the worse she could do was refuse to answer. "What is a pilgrimage to you? I feel it might differ from what I would imagine."

There was an air of... grief... around her. "A Summoner's Pilgramage. To go across Spira, helping the people while on my way all the temples, commune with and acquire the aid of the aeons who slept in them, before heading to Zanarkand to receive the Final Aeon to destroy Sin."

Well now, that was a wealth of confusing information. "I see."

He would ponder her words, perhaps do a search online, before he pressed again. Spira sounded like it might be what she called their world. He had never heard of an 'Aeon Temple' before, especially considering that Summons were stored in Materia, not temples, to his knowledge. Zanarkand was implied to be an important location, but he had never heard of it. The last part however, a 'Final Aeon', made him twinge slightly. It implied a summon in power greater than what she had called before. She also implied it was required to defeat this 'Sin'.

That he had never heard of any of these terms before was perhaps the most interesting part. Not an ounce of her body language nor tone suggested a lie. It was possible she just had different names for different locations, but... considering what Tseng had learned while spying on her, he felt they were missing something important. She had appeared surprised, and frustrated according to Tseng, that no one know of a 'Bevelle', which implied it was an important city, which he had never heard of. She said a pilgrimage had her wonder the world, but Wutai was the first sighting of her...

He wanted to press for more information, but not in public. He would ask later, for now, he simply allowed her the front of the boat, moving to stand a was back and lean against a pile of stacked crates, watching her watch the sea's waves crash against the ship and shore. She held... patience. She was not restless, nor twitchy, just waiting, accepting that time needed to pass before whatever came next. The boat pulled its anchor, and they were off, the only movement from Yuna a flicker of her hair at the sudden motion of the boat and gripping the railing to steady herself before she returned to silent solitude.

It became a curious waiting game for Sephiroth, watching her patience, a mental tally of the minutes ticking by. She surpassed Genesis easily, was closing in on how long Angeal could generally go without some kind of tick or tell or comment. It was also impressive that she didn't flinch or show tension with his gaze squarely on her shoulder-blades. Many wilted under his direct stare, or fidgeted, even Angeal or Genesis would tense a bit if he was giving them a stare-down they rightly deserved for a transgression. She had to be aware of him, so either she had a will of titanium...

Or the other end of the spectrum, she simply wasn't in a state to care. She had been ready to die when she had fought him, Angeal, and Genesis,-

Which was _still_ an absolutely insane thought, that anyone would face the three of them head on without fear, even if they were ready to die.

-had accepted it. The bitterness in her, the admission that her purpose, and the exact nature of it, was a lie...

He had seen that before. In the labs from other specimens, from the Wutai on occasion when they fought to their last breath...

She looked like she had lost everything aside from her life, and if she were to be believed, her profession made her life an object to be thrown away for 'the greater good'. Sephiroth had to resist the compelling urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust at that before he refocused. Which meant... she had nothing at this point, had given up her freedom, and was expecting to lose her life at some point...

There was a jolt along the boat, and Sephiroth blinked, eyes briefly turning to see another Shinra ship briefly stopping next to them, ramps going up between them to pass people and cargo. He mentally scolded himself for the lapse in conscious awareness, lost in thought as he had been...

And then he didn't resist the sigh when he saw Genesis sauntering over to him from the other boat.

"Well, well well, you go off to negotiate and you come back with a war bride."

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Must you Genesis?"

" _Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess_ ," parroted Genesis for that abominable play.

If Sephiroth could go back in time and murder whoever came up with it, he might sorely be tempted to. He had no issue with the play in itself, thought provoking and creativity inducing concepts he could respect. Even if sometimes he couldn't understand them. It helped him learn to think on the fly, or invoked him to study something or someone indepth to learn and understand them. However, the obsession with that play that Genesis had soured Sephiroth's appreciation of it.

"So, how fairs said fair maiden?" called out Genesis.

Yuna briefly tilted her head, in acknowledgement that she had heard his words. She appeared to consider answering, before she simply returned to facing forward, not responding. Sephiroth's lips curled in amusement at the affronted look Genesis had. His friend never took well to being ignored. He raised a hand, trajectory aimed slightly to the right of Yuna's head...

And Sephiroth caught his wrist, not tightly, but firmly. "I don't believe she is familiar enough for that, Genesis; or a cadet in need of 'motivation'."

Shooting fireballs inches past a strangers head was not a wise thing to do, especially when said stranger could summon beings capable of capsizing the boat if sufficiently ticked off. Genesis scoffed and yanked his hand free, huffing with annoyance. "Fine, fine, and here I was, thinking of getting you two a wedding present, but if she's going to be so rude, perhaps I'll keep my fiery friend to myself."

Sephiroth frowned. "Fiery friend?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuna slowly tense, turning to level a piercing gaze at Genesis... no, not at Genesis, the bangle on his wrist, a red materia on it...

"Ifrit," said Yuna softly.

Genesis raised an eyebrow. "Oh ho? You can feel him can you, lady Cetra? Here catch."

The only reason Sephiroth did not react in time, was because of the sheer incredulousness that washed over him. Surely Genesis wasn't about to do what he thought he was going to. Surely he couldn't be that stupid or foolish or purely _arrogant_. Surely he wasn't going to hand a confirmed threat another supernatural entity that she could potentially use against them. Surely he wasn't going to haphazardly commit what was basically treason just to dig at Sephiroth...

And then Genesis plucked the red materia off his bangle and tossed it to Yuna, which proceeded to burst and be absorbed into her.

Of course he was...

Sephiroth could only stare.

He wasn't the only one, Yuna had a brief moment of... something... both happy and yet not at being given the summon, before she stared at Genesis with a completely blank look.

Genesis raised an eyebrow, eyes flickering back and forth between Sephiroth and Yuna before snickering. "Identical looks, maybe you two are a 'match made in heaven'."

Yuna wrinkled her nose, her eyes briefly meeting Sephiroth's. "Your friend makes no sense."

"I'm aware," said Sephiroth with dead dryness.

He was going to _throttle_ Genesis. The next time they sparred, Genesis would be _crawling_ out of the VR room.

Genesis just seemed amused by it all before gave a light bow to Yuna. "I am a believer of the goddess Minerva, and she was known to favor the Cetra. Consider this a token of no ill will born from the war."

"I have no idea who that patron is," answered Yuna flatly, her tone irritated and dismissive.

Genesis's stupidity was almost worth it, _almost_ , at the sight of the pure indignant and sputtering mess Genesis briefly turned into. Not to mention another piece of information about Yuna; who apparently did not know of one of the Cetra's primary patron gods, even Sephiroth knew that name from his readings about them. Not to mention the disregard about a higher power. A curious development, and if he didn't have to deal with Genesis at the moment, he might have explored the thought with various possible reasons why.

"Commander Rhapsodos," barked Sephiroth in a brief, sharp tone.

Genesis instinctively straightened at the commanding voice.

"I am assigning you lavatory duty for the remainder of the trip back," snapped Sephiroth harshly, "and you're taking over paperwork for the next _month_. You get to explain to Angeal what you just did, and you will accept any punishment he deigns to give. If you shirk this in any way, I will report your transgression to Lazard. Am I clear SOLDIER?"

There was nothing quite like making a man like Genesis, so prideful, arrogant, and aristocratic, to _clean shit_ out of a bathroom toilet. That, more than anything else, was the one punishment that would stick and grind the redhead down.

"Yes sir," gritted out Genesis, sharply turning and stalking away, muttering, "Ungrateful, the both of you."

Sephiroth's eyebrows furrowed. How was giving Yuna a summon a gift to Sephiroth himself? That made absolutely no sense. All it would make her was more of a challenging threat if...

Ah.

Genesis did know him well.

But that was still an incredibly stupid thing to do, and Sephiroth was not going to take back his punishment. Not to mention he sorely doubted Yuna was the kind of person to spar. The only way he would face that new power was if she became a problem to be dealt with. Though, on the flip side, Genesis going out of his way to try and make peace with the Cetra they would most likely be spending a lot of time around wasn't a bad idea.

Just not the way he did it.

He returned his eyes to Yuna, who was once more gazing out into the sea, hands resting on the railing. Her head was slightly cocked this time, as if listening to something... or someone. Now there was a curious thought; could the summoner speak to her summons without calling them? He was tempted to outright ask...

He weighed the pros and cons of doing so. Depending on how she answered, he could search for hints of her lying, so that either way he may be able to discover the truth of it. And it was an important matter, now that he thought of it. If she could speak to them, she could plan and plot at anytime at anyplace. This was not something he suspected her honesty may cover, it would be tactically unsound after all to admit it. On the negative side, he had already pressed her once for information, doing so again so soon could be taken in offense. She was civil as of the moment, and having her become otherwise could make this situation very irritable very quickly.

Work outweighed his own personal comfort however, he had to ask. "Can you speak to your summons without calling them?"

She turned her head, her eyebrows furrowed, a look of incredulous briefly crossing her face. "Of course I can."

Sephiroth blinked.

Well...

That was unexpectedly blunt, and not tactically wise information to give out. Then again... she wasn't a general, a military figure. He had not seen nor heard of her giving commands. She was... to simply say, a summoner, and a spellcaster. Perhaps she did not realize the significance of what she said, and how it could be used against her, could be planned around. The look she was giving him said that she was under the impression this would be common knowledge. Perhaps he could deflect a little... make her think it was just curiosity...

"What is it like, to have them constantly speak to you?"

Yuna frowned a little, turning to face forward again. "Its not the most ridiculous thing I've heard, but don't know where people get these ideas. It's not constant. I can feel them, a connection in the back of my mind. But unless I and my aeons have something to say to one another, we respect eachother's privacy," she huffed a bit, "Usually. At the moment, Ifrit's just being a little excitable to be out of that little red prison."

That was a thought, summons having emotions. He made a note to look into more folklore of summons, their history. Because the way she spoke of them implied a mind, a will, thoughts and feelings, perhaps sentient intelligence all to their own. Not just a creature to be called to fight one's foes. Genesis would call him an 'uneducated philistine' for his lack of knowledge in the area. With the war being over, perhaps he would have more time to give in the pursuit of study and knowledge.

He slowly shook his head and returned his eyes to the Cetra... who did absolutely nothing but stand there, lost in her head, for the rest of the day, save for when Angeal briefly brought them something to eat, then a trip to the bathroom sometime later, before returning to the forefront. She was eventually led to a cabin, where Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal would rotate their watch throughout the night. She resumed her post at the front of the boat the next day; and he really should have realized why sooner. It was the only place where there weren't a lot of other people ( _SOLDIERs and infantry angry at her_ ) that wasn't her own small room. Aside from publicity stunts if there were any, there was a high chance she knew this would be her last taste of any sort of freedom outside a cell of some kind.

Though, Sephiroth wasn't one to enjoy the notion that his apartment in Shinra HQ was a prison. Nor did he particularly enjoy that one of his spare rooms was to be converted into a guest room for her. His 'home' was supposed to be the one place he could have to himself, where other people could not enter unless he let them ( _or they were Genesis just barging in_ ). He understood the tactical reasoning of having her close and under his watch, but it still grated. Especially that he was to essentially become a ' _babysitter_ ', or he supposed, a warden.

Though... while the possibility of it was slim and very doubtful, if Yuna accepted a place/position within Shinra and actually meant it, she may eventually earn some kind of freedom. He wondered, if Yuna realized something about her current predicament. Someone who had lost everything, and had nothing, ironically, had everything to gain **_IF_** she could let go of her past and accept a new future. He wouldn't say it aloud though, she wasn't likely to appreciate it. Nor was she likely to think Shinra a future she wanted to be a part of. If Sephiroth had ever been given a choice...

He's not sure he would have chosen it either.

The ' _not sure_ ' part being in that he had never experienced anything else for himself, so how was he to compare and know if he'd want another life or not?

Sephiroth gave her peace and quiet for the remainder of the journey, and they arrived at Junon the next day. Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis made a triangle around Yuna; Genesis in front, Angeal to her left, Sephiroth to her right as if walking alongside his 'wife', with Tseng bringing up the rear, and led her off the boat. He wasn't exactly expecting her to do anything, the chance for that was gone, and passed up on when they had been on the boat. Calling Leviathan on the open sea could have been a guaranteed escape for her, not to mention the possibility of capsizing the boat. She was, thankfully, a woman of her word. She had offered herself as a sacrifice for Wutai's freedom, and she did not shirk that. He still kept an eye on her though...

And was more than a little interested in her wide eye staring at Junon as they moved into the city. "Is something the matter, Lady Yuna?"

"There is machina everywhere," she said quietly.

His eyes followed her own, seeing their trajectory land on various things. Glowing signs, lighting, lamps, automated doors, piping, display screens, cars, everything, even the structure of buildings seemed to draw her focus. He was not deaf to the increase of her breathing, the look of 'overwhelmed' on her face, unease and distress in her eyes, tension in her shoulders. He still wasn't sure if she was a technophobe or not, but it was very evident she had little experience with machines or anything machine built. If she didn't live more down-to-earth than even the Wutai, he'd be surprised.

He hesitated briefly before laying as gentle a hand on her shoulder as he could. "Keep your breathing even and your focus in front of you. The more you take in at once, the more overwhelmed you will be."

She didn't break stride as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out, before doing as instructed. They entered into a lift cart that would take them into the Junon Military Base proper and sat down. Yuna still looked... unsettled. If this was how she was here...

"If this is how you react to Junon, you're going to love Midgar," mused Genesis.

Apparently Genesis shared his thought and observation.

Yuna gave him an unreadible look for a moment. "Worse than here?"

"That depends how you define 'worse'," said Genesis, "May I ask why you seem to have an aversion to machinery?"

"Machina is forbidden," she answered quietly, "Yevon..."

She shook her head, a look of bitter betrayal on her face. "Yevon portrayed it as the cause of all our suffering."

Oh, it's even _worse_ than technophobia. If Yevon was what she was implying it was, her entire culture forbid machinery ( _There was a question of where that culture resided of course_ ). Yet...

"Do you disagree with that?" asked Sephiroth, "From what I've heard from you thus far... you've voiced that you were lied to?"

There was open curiosity from the other two SOLDIERS, Tseng cleared his throat before she could answer. "Such questions should wait until we are back in HQ."

Yuna looked at Tseng with disinterest before gazing at Sephiroth. "I died with my faith intact. Finding myself here, and having the Aeons rip it apart, was an unexpected and unwanted surprise."

Sephiroth's eyes furrowed, an unasked question in his gaze. She merely closed her eyes and leaned back against her seat rather than answer. Genesis however didn't seem particularly satisfied, pulling it his PHS and plopping it on her lap. "Here."

Sephiroth resisted the urge to groan. Why couldn't Genesis ever leave things alone?

Yuna flinched a little and glanced down at it, going oh so still, apprehension in her eyes. "What... is it?"

"It's called a PHS, it serves mostly as a communication device," he answered, "Though, we can also browse the internet and do other Shinra related things on it."

Her eyebrows furrowed at it, she reached down and poked it...

Only to yelp and shove it across the lift cart as it started vibrating and ringing. Sephiroth caught the device, gave it a glance, and handed it back to Genesis. "Your mother has impeccable timing."

Genesis scowled. "Adoptive mother."

He grabbed it, flicked it to accept the call, and brought it up to his ear. "What is it?"

Sephiroth could listen if he wanted to with his hearing, but tuned it mostly out save for Genesis's replies to whatever was said.

"Yes, the war is over."

"No, I'm not coming home anytime soon, I have paperwork and other duties I need to attend to and..."

"Yes mother I kno..."

"Can you ever let me get a word in edgewise?"

"You can't be serious, I'm a fully grown man and..."

"You wouldn't dare! That's cruel and unusual punishment!"

"Fine fine fine, I'll take a few days off say... next month and come visit, happy?"

"Fine, _love_ you too."

Sephiroth raised an amused eyebrow. "Somehow, I allowed myself to think that you were the only drama of your family."

Genesis rolled his eyes. "Honestly, the woman threatened to cut off my supply of Banora Whites if I didn't come visit! She's _always_ been like that."

Angeal snickered. "Oh the humanity, the terrible terrible mother cutting off your apple supply, her only price to keep them going a hug and a kiss on the cheek."

Genesis made a rude gesture with his finger, Angeal only laughed.

"How... far away is she?" asked Yuna, curious.

"Banora, my hometown, is in the Mideel Area, a collection of long islands to the far southeast of this continent," he said, waving a hand through the air.

Yuna's eyes went a little wide. "It allows you to speak to people that far away?"

"I can call anyone anywhere in the world," said Genesis, "So long as they have a phone of sorts to answer."

"Oh," said Yuna, blinking a few times, looking a little stunned.

Sephiroth wonders quietly how many times he is going to see that look on her face in the coming days, weeks, and months. It would be interesting to watch he supposed, to see someone look upon technology with new, if but hesitant eyes. She eyed the phone in Genesis's hands with a hint of... _something_. It wasn't revulsion, so she wasn't against technology as much as 'Yevon' would have wanted her to be. It was... a hint of bitter longing and desire, was that it? Had she wished to have had something like this in her world? He wondered who she would have used it to...

_"It's been my entire life since my father left me, General, I know nothing else."_

Well... a phone would have at least have allowed her to say goodbye to her father he supposed, just before he would have completed his pilgrimage. Yes, he thinks that's exactly what she wanted it for; based on what he's noted of her, sacrifice and bitter loss, it would have been a closure she'd have wanted. Or perhaps to have talked to others she cared for before making her sacrifice on her own pilgrimage. Certainly not just to have a quick chat with a friend, as Yuna does not appear to be the type of person to be caught up on small desires, only things that truly matter. He is not one-hundred percent certain, but its a logical conclusion, and he credits himself for having starting to develop an understanding of enough worth to come to that answer.

Assuming its true of course. He's not going to ask however, that is personal on a level that is not to be intruded upon.

"Mmm, assuming you and Shinra get along, there's all sorts of gadgets to see," said Genesis, "And plays too!"

Sephiroth and Angeal groaned; Yuna just looked confused.

"If he asks to take you to a play called Loveless, save yourself the trouble and refuse," said Angeal.

Genesis leaned over Yuna, smacking Angeal's shoulder. Yuna watched the interaction with... baffled amusement. "I see...?"

"You don't," said Sephiroth, "But you won't want to anyway."

Genesis huffed. "Uncultured philistines, the both of you!"

"What is this 'Loveless' about?" asked Yuna.

Oh no...

"Kill me now, please," whined Angeal, "Before he gets started."

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Tseng didn't particularly react.

And Genesis...

Was positively delighted, practically bouncing in his seat to have the Cetra asking him about his favorite play. "There are many different interpretations, but the one I personally find the most appealing, is the one centered around the Hero, the Traveler, and the Prisoner seeking out the Gift of the Goddess..."

Yuna listens quietly as Genesis describes his play, the man not stopping as they leave the lift cart, go through the base, and board a helicopter for Midgar. There are hints of her emotion as he speaks, but she keeps her thoughts and feelings mostly masked.

"...the last act is, either intentionally or unfortunately missing," said Genesis was a dramatic sigh, "Leaving the ending up to interpretation."

"I see," says Yuna, her voice... very quiet.

"I'm curious, how would you interpret it?" asked Genesis.

"The Hero, the Traveler, the Prisoner, the Gift of the Goddess," she murmurs, eyes almost glazed over, head tilting in thought before she looked out the helicopter window.

"Tidus," she murmured, "Always trying to be a hero to the point of awkwardness, challenging everything he meets, I wonder if he would have challenged the role of a summoner if we had made it that far together."

She tilts her head back. "Auron, the traveler. Still wandering, trying fulfill his purpose, even after all that time," she shook her head, "If I was right in my suspicions, even wandering beyond death itself."

She smiles a mirthless smile. "Spira and it's peoples as the prisoner to an endless cycle of death."

Then it turned bitter. "The summoners as the Gift of the Goddess."

And foul. "A false gift."

She pauses, her eyebrows furrowed. "Or perhaps summoners as the prisoner, myself the latest one. All of us seeking the Gift of the Goddess, a lasting Calm, an Eternal Calm."

She shook her head. "It could go many different ways I suppose. I'd have to put in more thought than I care to at the moment."

She goes silent, and she's not the only one. Sephiroth, and he imagines Tseng as well, is trying to parse any information he can out of her words about her own life. Angeal has an awkward look to his face, a hand twitching to offer comfort, but holding back because of what they are: captors and the captive. Genesis is... well... Genesis.

"I always tried to see myself as the Hero if I put myself into my interpretations," mused the redhead.

Sephiroth and Angeal snorted, earning a glare from their friend.

"Or I'm the prisoner having to suffer these two imbeciles," said Genesis flatly.

"What is _that_?" said Yuna, eyes suddenly glued to the window.

Sephiroth leaned forward a bit and smiled mirthlessly. "That, is Midgar."

A splotch of gray metal in the distance, a ring of decaying ground, the surrounding area slowly bleeding of life with desert cliffs all around it. Its a mixture of illuminating light from all the buildings, and dark colors from the same structures. A circle formation to the city both above and below the plate ( _or a pizza dome as Genesis likes to call it_ ). He watches Yuna's eyes flicker as they draw closer and closer, hints of apprehension on her face.

Tseng cleared his throat. "Lady Yuna, when we arrive, you will be escorted to a guest room in Sephiroth's apartment. Tomorrow morning, a meeting between yourself and several high ranking members of the Shinra Corporation is scheduled. How you behave, your willingness to follow instructions, and your truthfulness in questions asked will determine your future in this company. Any offensive action will be taken as grounds to not only imprison you in, _uncomfortable,_ conditions, but will make the contract with Wutai null and void. Are we clear?"

Yuna leveled an unamused look on him. "Have I been nothing but compliant, complacent, and willing to answer anything asked thus far?"

"You have been," agreed Tseng, "But for all we know, it could be a front to get closer to Shinra's leadership and kill them."

If Sephiroth was a good judge of her character, not likely.

Yuna wrinkled her nose. "I'm not an assassin, and your SOLDIERs could snap my neck faster than I could blink."

There was that to.

Tseng hummed noncommital. "It is still a warning I am required to give."

Yuna turned her head away to look out the window again, disinterested. "I have no interest in fighting unless I have to. Respect me and I will respect you in turn. I have nothing to hide, ask your questions and I will answer, perhaps you can figure out how I ended up in Wutai for me, I do recall you offering when you were playing spy."

"Playing," he stated mildly.

"What kind of spy gives their real name?" she asked, briefly turning to raise an eyebrow at him.

Ah, and there was a slight twitch from Tseng. He hadn't quite mentioned that in his retelling.

"An honest one," he said simply.

Yuna smiled a little, and then gripped her seat belt as the helicopter touched down.

Sephiroth opened the door and stepped out, offering a hand to Yuna for aid if she wished it. She took it and he gently helped her down the steps and onto the landing pad. The others exited the helicopter and started heading for HQ. Sephiroth noted that they had a not-so minor welcoming committee. Director Verdot stood at the far end of the pad, several of his Turks behind him.

Sephiroth turned his head back to see Yuna peering a little over the edge. "Oh..."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "It would not be a pleasant drop, Lady Yuna, away from the edge if you will."

"I've already had one such plummet, I'm not interested in another," she said, backing from the edge and turning to go. Her eyes briefly flickered to the Turks waiting for them, but kept moving, Sephiroth going slightly behind her.

Veld gave a curt nod to the Cetra. "Welcome to Midgar, Lady Yuna. This building is the Shinra Headquarters, where you will be spending your time for the foreseeable future."

"I hope its not as dreary looking on the inside as it is the outside," was all she said in response.

Veld allowed an amused smile to cross his face. "Unfortunately, one of Shinra's few faults is our decor."

"A shame," she said before asking, "I was told I have a room to stay in? I am a bit tired from the journey here."

"Of course, jet lag can be trying," the Turk director answered.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What is 'jet lag'?"

The director blinked once. "You could consider it a temporary condition where your body has to adjust to a new time zone after quickly crossing large distances. You may feel fatigued or have difficulty sleeping for a day or so."

"What is a 'time zone'?"

The director hummed a bit and motioned to the entrance. "I can explain on the way."

Sephiroth kept his eye on the Cetra as they moved into the building, watching as one question led into another. Despite her unfamiliarity with technology, she was by no means primitive or unintelligent. She understood concepts as they were explained, and asked further questions to clarify if she didn't. She was inquisitive, her unawareness would only last so long. Keeping her in the dark about certain things would most likely have to be a carefully managed dance, something he imagined the Turks would want handled in specific ways, as there was no doubt Veld would come to the same conclusion Sephiroth had.

They went into an elevator, a bit of a tight fit with the lot of them there. Aside from a brief startlement when it began to move, she didn't seem alarmed or surprised by it. Perhaps her people had something similar, a pulley system or something. By the time they reached Sephiroth's apartment, he would dare say she had a much more encompassing understanding of transportation, traveling, and related terminology. A potential hazard if she escaped custody, but, he didn't think she would try to, not with Wutai's fate depending on her actions.

Sephiroth was only slightly disquieted when the Turks keyed open his door. He knew they would have access, but he still didn't like other people in _his_ 'home' uninvited, and especially not while he wasn't there. He kept his irritation off his face and walked in, the corner of his eyes on Yuna as she took in his humble ( _sparse_ ) abode. She lingered slightly on the television, some of the appliances visible in the kitchen, and a few other things, but didn't comment. She merely stood there and waited.

"I assume you can take things from here?" Veld inquired at Sephiroth.

He nodded.

"Very well," said Veld, turning back to Yuna, "I'm sure Tseng has told you we have a meeting in the morning, I suggest you all get some rest. We've already taken the liberty of purchasing you several Wutain outfits somewhat similar to what you wear so you will have spare sets of clothing for your stay. Though, without measurements it may not be an ideal fit, something that can be amended later."

"Thank you," she offered quietly, "I'm sure they will be fine."

Veld left without further word, the Turks filing out of the apartment one by one. Genesis and Angeal gave Sephiroth a questioning look, but he waved them away. He wanted some relative peace and quiet for the night. He doubted he would be sleeping with the Cetra in the apartment, not tonight at least. It was something he would have to get used to eventually. But for now, he had to much to think on. He led her to the guest room, and took a quick look inside...

And was rather... well, he wasn't sure if it was surprise, chagrin, or exasperated, to see that the Turks had gone out of the way to ' _decorate_ '. The room looked to be straight out of Wutai. Oriental in design, plants in vases scattered in the corners of the room. A lamp with a flower glass design giving a faint homely glow rested on a dresser. The bed, low to the floor, with a earthly green pattern on it. A small mat with a cushion on it near a small table to the side of the room with what looked like tea packets neatly arranged on it. The walls painted in similar to the rest of the room.

Yuna took it in as well before walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed with a sigh. If she took any comfort from the Turk's gesture, she didn't show it. A pretty cell was still a cell after all, and she would be spending a very long time in it. "Good night, Lady Yuna."

"Good night, General Sephiroth," she offered softly, not looking at him.

Sephiroth closed the door, moving to the couch to sit and contemplate the last few days, and the ways things could go from here on in...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How would you sum up FF10 in terms of Loveless?

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to anooooother crossover into the FF7 universe, I just can't help myself with these. :D. I picked Seymour Flux as the GAME-OVER death battle because, frankly, that guy was a bitch on my first play through of FF10, kicked my ass so bad. Anyway, don't worry about Yunnie's summons, she'll be getting them back one-by-one in style. I'm also taking some liberties with magic and it's functions in this, hope ya'll don't mind to much.
> 
> (FF10 didn't have an All function if I recall for magics, though X2 did, as an example)


End file.
